Artificial intelligence is no longer a future-state issue for ethics and compliance teams. It is already reshaping how programs manage training, reporting, risk assessment, monitoring, measurement, and operational decision-making. In this episode of The Ethicast, host Bill Coffin speaks with Roxanne Petraeus, Co-Founder and CEO of Ethena, and Dianne Ramos, Head of Ethics at Guardian Life Insurance, about how ethics and compliance leaders can move AI from experimentation into practical, responsible use. Roxanne and Dianne recently led the “Prompt to Practice: A Hands-On Workshop for the AI-Curious CCO” breakout session at the 2026 Global Ethics Summit, and they bring a practical, field-tested perspective to one of the most urgent questions facing today’s chief ethics and compliance officers: how can E&C teams adopt AI quickly, responsibly, and in ways that actually improve program performance? This conversation covers how to build AI fluency, create safe space for experimentation, engage leadership and key stakeholders, measure ROI, and lead teams through the cultural change that AI adoption requires. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why ethics and compliance teams should begin experimenting with AI now, even if they are still early in their journey How to distinguish between AI tools that are ready for operational use and those better suited for learning and experimentation Why leadership support, legal, risk, privacy, security, and compliance alignment matter when introducing AI How to measure the impact of AI on cycle time, error rates, rework, costs, and program maturity Why AI ROI should include both time savings and new capabilities that were not previously possible How E&C leaders can bring teams along through change without creating fatigue, disengagement, or quiet resistance To learn more about Ethena’s AI-driven compliance tools, visit goethena.com. To learn more about Guardian Life, visit guardianlife.com. To learn more about Ethisphere’s research on AI in ethics and compliance, visit ethisphere.com and download AI in Ethics & Compliance: Risk to Manage, Tool to Leverage. Subscribe to The Ethicast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify for more conversations on ethics, compliance, corporate integrity, and the future of business leadership. Chapters (00:02:13) - How E&C teams can catch up on AI adoption(00:04:33) - What is ready for prime time versus what is still experimental(00:07:01) - How to operationalize AI in regulated or resistant organizations(00:09:18) - Why measurement matters for AI in ethics and compliance(00:12:23) - Lessons learned from real AI implementation(00:15:51) - Resources and closing