AI'm Just Trying My Best

Adam Espinosa & Chevelle Bedra

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AI is everywhere. Modern Workery's Founder Chevelle Bedra and Co-Founder Adam Espinosa break down what that actually means, from pop culture to the boardroom. No jargon, no hype, just real talk. Because AI'm just trying my best, and that's all we can ask for.

6d ago

Episode #10- AI Change Fatigue, How Leaders Can Keep Up With the Pace of AI

Episode 10, AI Change Fatigue, How Leaders Can Keep Up With the Pace of AI Fall has arrived in Metro Detroit, and just like the seasons, AI keeps changing. The difference is nobody enjoys watching their AI tools change the way they enjoy watching the leaves turn. Adam and Chevelle dig into original research Chevelle pulled together charting every release from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot since ChatGPT went public, and the number is staggering. They talk about why the small updates can be more disruptive than the big model launches, why our brains are wired to resist change, and what leaders can actually do to keep their teams from shutting down when the pace feels impossible. What We Cover [00:00:00] Sweater weather and football season. Adam and Chevelle kick things off with the first days of fall in Michigan, and why the Midwest makes up for February through April. [00:02:00] From changing seasons to changing AI. Adam asks how anyone keeps up with the pace of AI, and Chevelle compares it to the I Love Lucy chocolate factory scene. [00:03:30] Quantifying the chaos. Chevelle's research tracked every release from the major enterprise AI providers since December 2022, adding up to roughly 1,394 changes. [00:05:00] Big dots and little dots. Reading the chart, where large circles show major model releases and small ones show smaller updates. Why those small changes may matter more to your people. [00:06:00] Does release rhythm matter? Microsoft tends to bundle its updates monthly while others look more sporadic. Chevelle explains the reporting differences and why predictable change is easier to digest. [00:08:00] Out of date in three days. The research was finished on September 20th and was already behind by the 23rd, which is exactly why organizations need partners to help them keep up. [00:09:30] Nobody likes change except a wet baby. Our brains work like prediction engines, so every moved button or renamed feature forces people to restart the learning process. [00:12:30] The cleaning service problem. Adam compares AI updates to coming home and finding everything moved. Is the cleanliness worth not knowing where your stuff is? [00:13:30] The bank line lesson. Chevelle shares what happened when she changed how customers lined up as a branch manager, and why AI's inconsistency makes change even harder. [00:16:30] What leaders can do, starting with acceptance. You will never know it all, and that's hard for leaders who like to be in control. [00:17:30] Control the pace. Use release filters where you can, sort updates into watch, test, or ignore, and yes, Tuesdays seem to be model release day. [00:18:45] You don't need a rollout plan for every feature. Decide what deserves training and communication, and bring your employees to the table to help decide. [00:20:00] Communicate on your terms. Replace 30 announcements with one monthly update, and give curious employees a SharePoint page or wiki to check for more. [00:20:45] Training is never one and done. Continuous refreshers at every skill level beat a single upfront training session. [00:22:00] The time savings paradox. Saving 20 minutes on a task doesn't help if people spend six hours figuring it out before it changes again. [00:23:00] Teach the outcome, not the clicks. Chevelle's baking analogy explains why knowing the goal lets people improvise when the steps change. [00:24:30] This isn't a trend. Adam on why the basics you learn now build the foundation for everything ahead, and why leaders can't afford to fall behind their own kids. [00:26:00] Start small. Pick one tool and one use case, because trying to learn everything is like drinking from 17 fire hoses. [00:27:30] Learn from each other. Build a champion network, compare prompts with peers, and stop waiting for a formal training every time something changes. [00:29:00] Curious, not frustrated. Individual and organizational capacity for change, and the simplest advice of the episode. Control what you can control. Favorite Quotes "Nobody likes change except for a wet baby." Chevelle "Is the cleanliness worth the stress and anxiety of now not knowing where my stuff is?" Adam "Just resign to the fact that you're never gonna know it all." Chevelle "It's like drinking from 17 fire hoses." Chevelle "Be curious, not frustrated." Chevelle "Control what you can control." Chevelle and Adam Links 📅 Book a free discovery call or speaking engagement with Modern Workery https://bookings.cloud.microsoft/book/ModernWorkeryDiscoveryCall@ModernWorkery.com/s/3OSHFvPMm0eRGXe97ckzkg2 📊 Chevelle's AI release chart https://www.linkedin.com/posts/modern-workery_everyone-says-ai-is-moving-fast-this-is-activity-7508540982565658627-w0KX 🌐 Modern Workery website https://modernworkery.com 💼 Modern Workery on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-workery/ Connect with Chevelle Bedra, Founder and Principal AI Strategist https://www.linkedin.com/in/chevellebedra/ Connect with Adam Espinosa, Co-Founder and VP of Development and Client Growth https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamespinosa2019/ 🎧 Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id6798381232 🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/03421I71FQOF81FjIdaacB 🎧 Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/629d33cb-6b17-43bd-8fd5-cf1d3f60a1f7 Whether you're rolling AI out across an entire organization or just trying to keep your head above water this week, we're all just trying our best. Subscribe wherever you listen, and if this one helped, send it to a leader who needs to hear it.
Sep 22

Ep #9- AI Model Literacy

Episode 9: Model Literacy, What Leaders Need to Know The model names keep changing, the headlines keep getting louder, and most leaders are too busy running their teams to keep up. Adam and Chevelle open with a fantasy football confession (Chevelle used AI to help draft her team, and Adam, the league commissioner, is launching an investigation) and then get into the topic that quietly shapes every AI experience your team has: model literacy. They break down the difference between an AI tool and the model powering it, why matching the model to the task matters, what happens when a provider swaps your default model without a heads-up, and how to keep up with all of it without burning out or buying into the hype. What We Cover [00:00:00] Fantasy football, an AI-assisted draft, and "AIGate." Chevelle wins her first week after using AI to help draft. Adam, as commissioner, is not amused. Her defense: it's a tool, and she made the final calls. [00:02:00] Why model literacy matters right now. Not exactly dinner table conversation, but it's the next skill leaders need so they know what people are talking about when decisions get made. [00:04:00] Tools vs. models: the car and the engine. ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot are the cars. The model is the engine underneath, and engines differ in power and effectiveness. [00:05:30] Who uses which models. OpenAI runs on OpenAI models, Claude runs on Anthropic models, and Copilot is multi-model, letting you pull in different engines. Chevelle explains why she thinks that's a smart strategic move. [00:07:00] Models as big brains. Different training means different strengths and different personalities, from math and science to writing to accuracy. [00:08:00] Picking the right model for the task. Grocery list or deep research? What model families are, why you don't need to memorize benchmark scores, and why "just ask" is a valid strategy. [00:10:00] Maseratis, Ferraris, and scooters. Why understanding where you're going helps you choose the right vehicle. [00:10:30] Can you trust a tool to recommend a model? Chevelle's take: mostly yes, but verify, and prompt it to be honest with you. [00:11:30] Why leaders need access to more than one tool. Run the same prompt in different tools and compare. Chevelle also mentions a Microsoft feature rolling out that lets you re-run a prompt with another model without switching tools. [00:12:30] The golf bag and the team of people. Adam's golf bag analogy, plus Chevelle's version: build a team with different strengths instead of putting all your eggs in one basket. [00:14:00] When the model changes and nobody tells you. The day your car sounds different and you have no idea why. What to check when output quality suddenly shifts. [00:15:30] The adoption risk nobody talks about. If a team doesn't know models exist, one bad stretch can turn into "Claude stinks," and that hurts adoption. Chevelle shares which model she still prefers for writing, and how she found out by testing. [00:17:00] Astra, Fable, and what "frontier model" means. Adam asks how to pronounce Astra, and Chevelle walks through the latest releases, the frontier model idea, and what people mean by AGI. [00:19:00] The arms race and how your employees hear it. Why it matters what your people are seeing in the headlines and how they feel about it. [00:20:00] Doom videos, whistleblowers, and a grain of salt. Marketing, financing, and IPO noise, and why Chevelle isn't worried about AI taking over the world anytime soon. [00:21:00] Regulation, pacing, and change management. The concern isn't just capability. It's how fast models, features, and interfaces change and how much cognitive load that puts on busy teams. [00:22:30] Why leaders can't just tune it out. A team that didn't realize EU regulations applied to them, and why lean-on-the-experts still means staying personally involved. [00:24:00] How to keep up without burning out. Chevelle's daily brief, why weekly or biweekly is plenty for most people, and why hands-on use beats reading about it. [00:26:00] Leaders don't live in this space, and that's okay. Adam on why leaders running teams and organizations can't be expected to track every release. [00:27:00] Appoint an AI point person. Have an enthusiastic team member share a weekly update through the lens of what matters for your team. Focus on what you can control. [00:28:00] Marketing hype and the TikTok doom spiral. Why a lot of alarming content is a marketing campaign, and why both hosts say to use caution without believing everything you hear. [00:29:00] AI isn't going away, so help your team navigate it. Fear and skepticism are normal with any new technology. Leaders can help their teams weed through the noise. Favorite Quotes "The car is ChatGPT or Claude or Copilot, but what's actually powering that vehicle is the model." Chevelle "You wouldn't drive a Maserati to go get lumber from Home Depot." Chevelle "If you notice a difference in your output, check the model." Chevelle "Each tool is a different club, each club hits the ball, but each club is designed to hit the ball in a different way for a different distance." Adam "Focus on what you can control." Chevelle Watch our Youtube Channel here: https://youtu.be/nkcAQPK0aL0
Sep 16

Ep #8: AI and Kids, What the Classroom Can Teach the Boardroom

Episode 8: AI and Kids, What the Classroom Can Teach the Boardroom School is back in session, and so is the debate. Adam and Chevelle open this one on back-to-school stress and end up somewhere bigger: New York City just put a one-year moratorium on AI in K-8 classrooms, affecting roughly 600,000 students, while a small district in Michigan quietly replaced a specials class with digital literacy. Two very different bets on the same question. Along the way, Adam and Chevelle get into cognitive atrophy versus cognitive foreclosure, why banning a tool never actually stops people from using it, and why every argument playing out in schools right now is the same argument playing out in boardrooms. What We Cover [00:01:00] Back to school, and the Copilot use case that saved an hour. Chevelle drops her kids' school calendar into Copilot and gets every date on her calendar in about 20 seconds. [00:02:30] New York City's K-8 AI moratorium. A one-year pause covering the largest school district in the country, with limits on teacher use too, announced days before the school year started. [00:04:30] The other side of the coin. Chevelle's district cut a long-running specials class and replaced it with digital literacy, starting in kindergarten. [00:07:00] Cognitive atrophy vs. cognitive foreclosure. The distinction that should be driving every AI policy conversation: losing a skill you already built vs. never building it at all. Chevelle applies both to org design. [00:09:00] "You won't have a calculator in your pocket." Adam on the technology warning every one of us got in school, and how well it aged. [00:10:30] AI's PR problem. The health teacher who assigned a deliberately strange writing prompt and got back 30 versions of the same Mission Impossible story arc. [00:12:00] The numbers on student adoption. 62% of students middle school and up reported using AI as of December 2025, up from roughly 48% six months earlier, and they're getting more skeptical, not less. [00:13:00] The leadership parallel. Adam asks the uncomfortable question: if credentialed executives are still hesitant to adopt AI, how are parents supposed to teach it? Chevelle's answer: you can't teach what you don't use. [00:17:30] Differentiation and the 30-kid classroom. Why a blanket yes or no misses the kids on both ends of the curve. [00:20:00] Shadow AI, the K-8 edition. The exact dynamic Modern Workery sees in organizations. Ban the tool and people don't stop, they just stop telling you, and they pick worse tools with fewer protections. [00:21:30] A real client story. Sensitive company data going into general-purpose models, and what that costs. [00:22:30] Cognitive scaffolding in practice. Learning through narrative, getting the model to challenge you, and the kid whose math problems all became soccer problems. [00:24:00] What Adam and Chevelle actually tell their own kids. Tool, not crutch. Question everything. Ask for the sources. [00:27:30] The take-home math quiz that broke the AI. Multiple choice, wrong answer, a hallway full of parents the next morning who got the same wrong answer. [00:29:00] Bringing it home. Why the lessons from a group of 10-year-olds transfer cleanly to a group of 40-year-olds, and why the kids are often the easier audience. Favorite Quotes "Just because we ban something doesn't mean that students aren't gonna use it. They're gonna use it, but probably hide it." — Chevelle "You can never teach something that you don't understand yourself." — Chevelle "You're not gonna have a calculator in your pocket throughout life. Well, guess what? We do." — Adam "Use it as a scaffold, as a tool to get you to the answer, not to get you the answer." — Chevelle "Most times it's easier to teach the children than it is to teach adults, because they don't have years and years of programming." — Adam
Aug 31

Ep.7 : The Claude Watermark Story

AI Just Trying My Best — Episode 7: The Claude Watermark Story Hosts: Adam Espinosa & Chevelle Bedra (Principal AI Strategist, Founder of Modern Workery) Episode Summary Claude recently announced it's rolling out watermarks on AI-generated content — and the internet immediately panicked. In this episode, Adam and Chevelle unpack what the watermark actually is (embedded metadata, not a visible stamp), how it connects to the EU AI Act, and why the real issue isn't the watermark itself but the fact that most employees still don't know when and how they're supposed to use AI at work. Along the way: the "Holy AI" road-trip game, AI-generated termination emails, and why nobody wants to be the only one wearing the guardian cap. Timestamps & Topics [00:00:00] Cold open and catching up [ 00:01:00] The "average user" banter continues [00:02:00] What is the Claude watermark story? [00:03:00] How business leaders should respond to the news [00:04:00] The EU AI Act and the intent behind it [00:06:00] It's metadata, not a visible watermark — and what it does/doesn't track [00:07:00] What this means for students, professors, and AI detection tools [00:08:00] The real disclosure test: "human in the loop" [00:09:00] Does the EU AI Act actually affect US companies? [00:10:00] Why the EU tends to regulate AI ahead of the US [00:12:00] High-risk use cases: hiring, firing, credit decisions [00:13:00] Why employees hide their AI use (and hide the em dash) [00:14:00] "Holy AI" — the new car-ride game for spotting AI-made billboards [00:16:00] A simple framework: AI Expected, AI Supports, Human First [00:17:00] AI in recruiting and hiring — losing the human touch [00:18:00] Using AI for "the work around the work," not the work itself [00:19:00] Why AI adoption stalls when you're the only one using it [00:20:00] The Guardian Caps analogy: normalizing AI use like NFL concussion protocols [00:21:00] Why fancy AI policies and dashboards aren't enough [00:22:00] The whiteboard exercise: "Yes AI / No AI" [00:23:00] A real debate about whether using AI in an email is a bad look [00:24:00] AI-generated termination emails — happening more than you'd think [00:25:00] The real solution: common sense, empathy, and good judgment [00:26:00] Closing thoughts Key Takeaways Claude's watermark is embedded metadata in text and images, not a visible tag. It doesn't collect who used it or how much — no personal data is attached. Most current AI legislation doesn't directly impact everyday knowledge workers using tools like Copilot for personal productivity, but it does apply if you interface directly with EU customers or business. The bigger workplace issue isn't legislation — it's that employees don't know what's acceptable, so they either avoid AI or use it and try to hide it. The disclosure line under emerging regulation centers on "human in the loop": actively reviewing and editing AI output is different from having AI create content unsupervised. High-risk activities to watch: hiring, firing, and credit decisions — places where human judgment and oversight matter most. A simple framework for teams: sort tasks into AI Expected, AI Supports, and Human First. Adoption sticks when it's the norm across a whole team, not when a few people use AI and feel like outliers (the "Guardian Caps" problem). Skip complicated AI governance decks — a simple whiteboard exercise mapping "Yes AI / No AI" tasks saves more time and confusion. Notable Quotes "It's essentially like metadata that's embedded... That's not it. It's actually metadata that's included into the text, and also in the images." — Chevelle Bedra "If everybody wore the damn guardian caps and were required to use the guardian caps, it wouldn't be a big deal, 'cause everybody would wear them. It just becomes the norm." — Chevelle Bedra "That's the solution right there: common sense, empathy, and good judgment." — Adam Espinosa About the Hosts Adam Espinosa — Co-host of AI Just Trying My Best. Co-Founder or Modern Workery Chevelle Bedra — Principal AI Strategist and Founder of Modern Workery, helping organizations build practical, human-centered AI adoption strategies.
Aug 13

EP 6: The Adoption Gap: Why AI Isn't Working (Yet)"

Episode 6: The Adoption Gap — Why AI Isn't Working (Yet) In this episode, Adam and Chevelle dig into one of the most talked-about (and most misunderstood) stats in AI right now: only about 5% of enterprises have successfully integrated generative AI into their workflows at scale, according to MIT's Gen AI Divide research. So what's actually holding the other 95% back? Adam and Chevelle break down why it almost always comes back to leadership, why "more tools" isn't the fix, and why making AI adoption fun and low-pressure might matter more than any formal training program. They also dig into McKinsey's finding that 88% of organizations are using AI in at least one business function, but most haven't scaled it, and what that gap actually means for data safety, tool sprawl, and building a real champions program. What We Cover [00:00] – Why AI adoption feels like living in "the windy city," with new shifts every week [00:02] – MIT's Gen AI Divide research: only ~5% of enterprises have successfully scaled generative AI [00:04] – Why AI adoption is a different kind of change management than past tech rollouts [00:04] – The #1 thing leaders get wrong: not setting a clear goal for what AI should actually do [00:06] – The "new ship, same rowers" problem — why swapping tools doesn't fix a strategy problem [00:09] – Why organizations chase instant ROI and why that expectation sets AI adoption up to fail [00:10] – The people side of adoption: fear, lack of incentive, and the "it's coming for my job" narrative [00:12] – Why sales is usually the easiest entry point for AI ROI, and how it spreads to other functions [00:12] – The "Jack Sparrow leadership" theory — leading with conviction even without every detail mapped out [00:13] – Why making AI adoption fun and engaging (like prompt-a-thons) beats long, dry training sessions [00:18] – McKinsey's State of AI research: 88% of organizations use AI in at least one function, but only about a third are scaling it [00:19] – The shadow AI problem — why employees are using unapproved tools even when leadership doesn't know it [00:21] – How to decide whether your org needs one AI tool or several (and why "buying more ships" usually backfires) [00:26] – Why every organization needs AI champions, and how to find and support them without over-engineering the process [00:29] – Why you should never call it a "committee" if you want people to actually show up Favorite Quotes "It's not the engine, it's not the boat, it's the people rowing the boat." — Adam "You're never gonna get the ROI if you don't know what you want them to do in the first place." — Chevelle "Committee is where fun and innovation goes to die in most organizations." — Chevelle Listen & Subscribe New episodes of AI'm Just Trying My Best drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube so you never miss an episode — and if this one hit home, share it with a leader in your life who needs to hear it.
Aug 5

Ep. 5: AI in Pop Culture, From the Terminator Effect to WALL-E

Ep. 5: AI in Pop Culture, From the Terminator Effect to WALL-E On this episode of AI'm Just Trying My Best, host Adam Espinosa and Modern Workery founder Chevelle Bedra dig into how pop culture shapes the way people feel about AI, from the doom and gloom of the Terminator effect to the more hopeful robots showing up in Toy Story 5 and Big Hero 6. They talk about why a single sensational headline about an AI "escaping a sandbox" can do more to scare people off than any real risk actually justifies. Chevelle also shares a powerful story about rolling out Copilot to a neurodivergent employee who went from struggling to communicate to thriving at work, plus why she personifies her own AI tools ("Chatty"), how AI can work as your invisible wingman before a big presentation or client call, and a story about a job candidate who got caught reading his interview answers straight off an AI chatbot. What We Cover: [00:00] Welcome to Episode 5 [01:00] Why people default to comparing AI to the Terminator [02:00] The OpenAI "sandbox escape" headline and why it got blown out of proportion [04:00] How AI has quietly been part of everyday life for years, through Netflix, Spotify, and bank fraud detection [06:00] A real-life example of AI catching fraud on a debit card purchase [07:00] How Copilot changed the game for a neurodivergent employee at Chevelle's former company [10:00] Unpacking the "Terminator effect" and why fear hurts AI adoption [12:00] Personifying your AI tools to make them feel more approachable [13:00] Positive AI representation in pop culture: Toy Story 5, Big Hero 6, and WALL-E [18:00] Using AI as an "invisible wingman" to prepare for calls, presentations, and speeches [22:00] The job candidate who got caught reading his interview answers off an AI chatbot [27:00] Why AI might actually be making people's cognitive skills sharper, not lazier Favorite Quotes: "It's not gonna kill you in your sleep. It's not the Terminator." "Copilot doesn't have a soul. It's not thinking. It's just pattern recognition." "If you use AI to cut corners, it's gonna make the lazy people really appear lazy." "You can't trust your little sister to write your book report." Got a topic or question you want the team to cover? Drop it in the comments.
Aug 5

Ep. 4: AI Leaders Assemble, Why Managers Are Stuck in the Middle

Ep. 4: AI Leaders Assemble, Why Managers Are Stuck in the Middle On this episode of AI'm Just Trying My Best, host Adam Espinosa and Modern Workery founder Chevelle Bedra talk about the group getting squeezed hardest by AI adoption right now: managers. Using a surprisingly perfect comparison to Michael Scott picking a healthcare plan on The Office, they break down why leadership is pushing AI down, employees are feeling every kind of way about it, and managers are stuck in the middle trying to figure out where to even start. Chevelle and Adam also get into the personal side of AI (furnace repairs, car diagnostics, and Copilot sassing Chevelle's husband Tim about a car repair), why your data is already out there whether you like it or not, and the "imposter syndrome" some leaders feel when their employees are using AI better than they are. Plus, details on Chevelle's live workshop, Lead Your Team, Lose the Busywork: The AI-Powered Sales Leader. What We Cover: [00:00] Welcome to Episode 4 [03:00] Using Copilot for everyday problem-solving, from furnace leaks to car repairs [07:00] The real difference between a Copilot search and a Google search [11:00] Addressing data privacy concerns and why your data is already out there [14:00] The Office comparison: why managers are stuck like Michael Scott picking a healthcare plan [19:00] The wide range of AI adoption across a team, from laggards to power users [22:00] The imposter syndrome problem: when leaders discount work because AI helped make it [24:00] Preview of the upcoming workshop, Lead Your Team, Lose the Busywork [28:00] Three things leaders should do when told to "figure out an AI strategy" Favorite Quotes: "It's impossible for you to create a strategy when you don't know the capabilities yourself." "You gotta stick with it. There's always a moment where people are mesmerized." "Your data's already out there. You're crazy to think that they're not getting it." "Small, practical changes make a big impact on the bottom line." Got a topic or question you want the team to cover? Drop it in the comments.
Aug 5

Ep. 3: AI in Sales, Why the Best Salespeople Have Nothing to Fear

Ep. 3: AI in Sales, Why the Best Salespeople Have Nothing to Fear On this episode of AI'm Just Trying My Best, host Adam Espinosa and Modern Workery founder Chevelle Bedra dig into the headlines shaking up the sales world, from Microsoft layoffs to Salesforce's AI agent push. They break down why sales is one of the industries with the most to gain from AI, why inconsistency among sales reps is becoming a real problem for sales leaders, and why the salespeople who lean into AI now will have a massive edge over the ones who don't. Chevelle and Adam talk through what AI can and can't replace in sales (spoiler: trust and empathy aren't going anywhere), why customers still want a human on big purchases, and why "AI won't replace your job, but someone using AI will" might be the most important sentence in this episode. What We Cover: [00:00] Welcome to Episode 3 [01:00] Why AI is set to impact sales more than almost any other industry [02:00] The consistency problem: some reps are ahead, some are behind, and it's creating real variation in performance [05:00] Where chatbots make sense, and where a human is still non-negotiable [07:00] Why trust is the real currency in sales, and why AI can't fake it [10:00] Salesforce data on AI freeing up time for actual customer conversations [13:00] What happened when Chevelle trained sales professionals at PNC Bank [15:00] The stats: 48% report revenue increases from AI adoption, 51% report shorter sales cycles [19:00] The risk of over-indexing on AI and why authenticity still wins [21:00] Chevelle's prediction for sales and AI over the next five years Favorite Quotes: "AI is not gonna replace your job, but somebody using AI is gonna replace your job." "You can't create fake empathy. You can't create fake trust." "I think there's gonna be more salespeople than not." "Let AI be behind the scenes. We're the lead singer of the band." Got a topic or question you want the team to cover? Drop it in the comments.
Aug 5

Ep. 2: AI Is Only as Good as the People Using It — The Ford Story

Ep. 2: AI Is Only as Good as the People Using It — The Ford Story On this episode of AI'm Just Trying My Best, host Adam Espinosa and Modern Workery founder Chevelle Bedra dig into the story making rounds on social media: Ford Motor Company laying off 350 engineers, then bringing them back after leaning too hard on AI without a solid strategy behind it. Chevelle and Adam break down why companies citing AI for layoffs are often masking deeper mismanagement, why moving fast without employee input backfires, and why the real key to AI adoption isn't the technology itself, it's talking to the people actually doing the work. Plus, a detour into robot names, DoorDash cooking skills, and why "slow and steady" beats "move fast and break things" when it comes to AI strategy. What We Cover: [00:00] Welcome to Episode 2 [02:00] Using Copilot for everyday tasks, from recipes to pantry inventory [07:00] The Ford Motor Company story: 350 engineers laid off, then rehired [09:00] Why companies blame AI for layoffs that are really about mismanagement [10:00] What Ford could have done differently: talking to engineers first [13:00] Finding the "pebbles in your shoe," the small annoying tasks AI should eliminate first [16:00] The real cost of layoffs and rehiring when AI strategy misses the mark [19:00] Building trust with your workforce before rolling out AI [21:00] Why job candidates should be asking employers about their AI strategy [27:00] Practical advice for where to start if you don't know where to begin Favorite Quotes: "Every technological revolution actually creates jobs." "You've gotta talk to your people. It doesn't need to be some fancy survey." "The wave's coming. It's just how wet are we gonna get." "Slow and steady, like the tortoise and the hare." Got a topic or question you want the team to cover? Drop it in the comments.
Aug 5

Ep.1 : Why AI Adoption Starts With Just Saying "Hi"

Ep. 1: Chevelle Bedra on Why AI Adoption Starts With Just Saying "Hi" Ep. 1 of AI'm Just Trying My Best is here. Host Adam Espinosa sits down with Modern Workery founder Chevelle Bedra to talk about how she stumbled into AI years before most people had even heard of ChatGPT, and why AI adoption doesn't have to feel intimidating. Chevelle breaks down what AI adoption actually means, why the fear of losing your job to AI usually doesn't hold up, and what to type into a blank prompt box if you've never used one before (hint: you can literally just say "Hi"). Plus, a segment called AI for Dummies, where Adam plays the skeptic and Chevelle explains large language models in plain English. What We Cover: [00:00] Welcome to Episode 1 [01:00] Chevelle's 20 years in corporate America and how Modern Workery got started [03:00] Being an early ChatGPT adopter (and why that's not the same as being an expert) [07:00] What "AI adoption" actually means [10:00] Doing better work with less effort, not just doing more work faster [11:00] Addressing the real fear: will AI take my job? [16:00] AI for Dummies: explaining large language models in plain English [19:00] Why your first prompt can just be "Hi" [22:00] A word of caution on free AI tools and protecting sensitive data [24:00] Can people get too emotionally attached to AI? Favorite Quotes: "It's not that big of a deal. It's a tool. We're still at the driver's seat." "Everybody's afraid, and even if they don't say they're afraid, they're lying." "Your first prompt could be, 'Hi, I have no idea what I'm doing.'" "We're all just trying our best." Got a topic or question you want the team to cover? Drop it in the comments.

10 Episodes

AI is everywhere. Modern Workery's Founder Chevelle Bedra and Co-Founder Adam Espinosa break down what that actually means, from pop culture to the boardroom. No jargon, no hype, just real talk. Because AI'm just trying my best, and that's all we can ask for.

Creator

Adam Espinosa & Chevelle Bedra
Years Active

2026
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
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© 2026 AI'm Just Trying My Best
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AI'm Just Trying My Best