In this episode of Empowered by AI, Michelle Muncy-Silva talks with Katie Milton Jordan about what real AI adoption looks like when you stop chasing tools and start investing in people, processes, and clarity.

Katie shares her work helping economic development leaders operationalize AI responsibly, explains why “not knowing what you don’t know” is the biggest barrier to adoption, and walks through a live, practical workflow for creating a personal AI policy. This episode is especially relevant for leaders, solo operators, and women navigating AI adoption under real-world constraints like limited time, budget, and bandwidth.

Time-Stamped Discussion Highlights

00:00 – Introduction and Katie’s work in economic development and AI

01:00 – Why most organizations don’t actually “get AI wrong”

02:10 – The role of hype, FOMO, and pressure from stakeholders

02:45 – The three AI investment buckets: products, projects, and people/processes

04:00 – Why leaders usually invest in the wrong order

05:00 – Bandwidth, leadership fatigue, and skepticism around AI trends

06:20 – Venture Fest and what partnering with AI made possible

07:00 – Using AI to amplify impact with no time, no budget, and small teams

08:00 – AI as copilot, not driver, and why human relationships still matter

09:40 – Reducing operational burden to reinvest in human work

10:40 – The cost of misalignment and moving faster in the wrong direction

11:30 – Failing faster, tighter feedback loops, and intentional iteration

12:20 – Checking your internal compass in times of rapid change

13:00 – Nervous system regulation, boundaries, and avoiding AI burnout

14:00 – Why whole humans need to be considered in AI adoption

15:00 – Introduction to personal AI policies and leadership guardrails

16:00 – Live walkthrough: what a personal AI policy workflow includes

17:00 – AI red lines and ethical boundaries

18:30 – Client transparency and accountability when using AI

22:00 – Quality standards, verification, and signing your name to AI-assisted work

24:00 – Bias checks and prompting AI to critique its own assumptions

26:00 – Workforce impact, reskilling, and augmentation vs replacement

28:00 – Societal responsibility and non-negotiable red lines

29:00 – Generating a personal AI manifesto and why workflows matter

30:30 – Final reflections and how to connect with Katie

You can watch the Mason County Venture Fest video here

Watch the full episode and see the live workflow demo on YouTube:

youtube.com/@EmpoweredbyAISLAI

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