EP 260 Human-First in an AI-Forward World with Helen Patterson

What does it really mean to build an AI-forward company that is still deeply human-first? In this episode, host Susan Diaz and senior HR leader and mentor culture advocate Helen Patterson talk about jobs, guardrails, copyright, environmental impact, and why mentorship and connection matter more than ever in the age of AI.

Episode summary

Susan is joined by Helen Patterson, founder of Life Works Well, senior HR leader, and author of the upcoming book Create a Mentor Culture.

They start with a Y2K flashback and draw a straight line from past tech panics to today’s AI headlines. Helen shares why she sees AI as the latest evolution of technology as an enabler in HR - another way to clear the admin and grunt work so humans can focus on growth, development, and real conversations.

From there, they dig into:

• The tension between “AI will kill jobs” and tens of thousands of new AI policy and governance roles already posted.

• How shadow AI shows up when organizations put in blanket “no AI” rules and people just reach for their phones anyway.

• The very real issues around privacy, copyright, and intellectual property when staff feed proprietary material into public models.

• The less-talked-about environmental impact of AI and why leaders should demand better facts and more intentional choices from tech providers.
  
  

In the second half, Helen brings the conversation back to humanity: mentorship as a counterweight to disconnection, her One Million Mentor Moments initiative, and how everyday “micro-mentoring” at work can help people adapt to rapid change instead of being left behind. They close with practical examples of using AI for good in real life - from travel planning and research to late-night dog-health triage - without letting it replace judgement.

Key takeaways

This isn’t our first tech panic. From Y2K to applicant tracking systems, HR has always framed tech as an enabler. GenAI is the newest layer, not an alien invasion. Looking back at history helps calm “sky is falling” narratives.

Jobs are changing, not simply disappearing. Even as people worry about AI-driven job loss, platforms like Indeed list tens of thousands of AI policy and governance roles. The work is shifting toward AI-forward skills in every function.

Blanket “no AI” rules don’t work. When organizations ban external tools or insist on only one locked-down platform, people quietly use their own devices and personal stacks anyway - creating shadow AI with real privacy and IP risk. Guardrails and education beat prohibition.

Copyright and confidentiality need more than vibes. Without clear guidance, staff will copy proprietary frameworks or documents into public models and re-badge them. Leaders need simple, well-communicated philosophies about what must not go into AI tools.

Environmental impact is part of human-first. Training and running large models consumes energy. The real solution will be systemic (how tech is built and powered), but individuals and organizations can still use AI more efficiently, just like learning not to leave all the lights on.

Mentorship is the ultimate human technology. Helen’s work on Create a Mentor Culture and One Million Mentor Moments reframes mentoring as everyday, one-conversation acts that share wisdom, reduce fear, and help people reskill for an AI-forward world. Tech should support that, not replace it.

Upskilling beats layoffs. When roles change because of AI, the most human-first response isn’t to cut people loose, it’s to invest in learning, mentoring, and redeployment so existing talent can grow into new, AI-augmented roles.

Use AI to simplify life, not complicate it. From planning multi-country trips to triaging whether the dog really needs an emergency vet visit, smart everyday use of AI can save time, money, and anxiety - freeing up more space for the work and relationships that actually matter.

Episode highlights

[00:01] Susan sets the scene: 30 episodes in 30 days to build Swan Dive Backwards in public.

[00:39] Helen’s intro: Life Works Well, heart-centred high-performance cultures, and her focus on mentorship.

[03:43] What an AI-forward and human-centred organisation looks like in practice.

[04:00] Y2K memories and why today’s AI panic feels familiar.

[06:11] 25–35K AI policy jobs on Indeed and what that says about the future of work.

[07:49] Jobs lost vs jobs created—and why continuous learning is non-negotiable.

[15:19] The danger of “everyone is using AI” with no strategy or safeguards.

[19:25] Shadow AI, personal stacks, and why hard bans don’t stop experimentation.

[21:13] A real-world IP scare: proprietary material pasted into GPT and re-labelled.

[23:06] GPT refusing to summarise a book for copyright reasons—and why that’s a good sign.

[24:03] The case for a simple AI philosophy doc: purpose, principles, and communication.

[25:24] Environmental concerns, fact-checking, and the server-room-to-laptop analogy.

[30:17] New social media laws for kids and what they signal about tech accountability.

[30:41] One Million Mentor Moments: why one conversation can change a career.

[31:22] From elite programmes to everyday mentor cultures inside organisations.

[35:01] AI for mentoring and coaching: bots, big-name gurus, and internal use cases.

[36:30] Using AI for travel planning, research, and everyday life admin.

[37:35] Susan’s story: using AI to triage a dog-health scare instead of doom-scrolling vet sites.

[38:37] Life Works Well’s roots in work–life harmony and simplifying with tech.

[39:35] Where to find Helen online and what’s next for her book.

If you’re leading a team (or a whole organization), use this episode as a prompt to ask:

1. Where are we treating AI as a tool in service of humanity - and where are we forgetting the human first?
   
   

2. Do our people actually know what’s OK and not OK to put into AI tools?
   
   

3. How could we use mentorship - formal or informal - to help our people navigate this shift instead of fearing it?

Connect with Susan Diaz on LinkedIn to get a conversation started.

 

Agile teams move fast. Grab our 10 AI Deep Research Prompts to see how proven frameworks can unlock clarity in hours, not months. Find the prompt pack here.

You can connect with Helen Patterson on LinkedIn and follow her work on Create a Mentor Culture and One Million Mentor Moments via lifeworkswell.ca