AI Discussions at the RISE Leadership Summit
What AI Got Wrong Made the Conversation Right
I just came off the stage from moderating a panel at the RISE Leadership Summit in Fort Lauderdale: “Innovating Your Career with AI.”
It was a conversation meant to demystify AI for young professionals in insurance, not just how to use it, but how to think differently about their work because of it.
And it was demystified, just not in the way I planned.
Before the event, I fed ChatGPT the LinkedIn profiles and bios of my four panelists, Kim Moody, Dennis Squibb, Dan Price, and Leanne Berry, and asked it to draft short, punchy introductions.
What I got back sounded polished and impressive. But it was also spectacularly wrong.
One by one, my panelists corrected me on stage. The audience loosened up and laughed. Here we were, talking about how AI can make you look smart, and it set me up for a live demo of why you still need human judgment.
I wish I could say I planned it. I didn’t. I’d just assumed introductions were low-stakes enough that I didn’t need to fact-check. Luckily, that unplanned “AI fail” turned out to be the perfect opening because it made the topic approachable and it reminded everyone that if you delegate your thinking to a machine, you will get called out eventually.
And the panelists were incredibly good sports.
Moderated a panel on how AI is reshaping careers in insurance at the 2025 RISE Leadership Summit — a 560 person event packed with ambitious professionals, industry influencers, and execs from 200+ companies.
AI Isn’t Here to Take Your Job; It’s Here to Change How You Work
That was the core idea we unpacked. We weren’t there to scare people or sell AI-flavored snake oil and the panelists brought the goods:
Kim Moody shared how AI helped her save meaningful time, not just convenience, but time that directly improved outcomes for employees and customers.
Leanne Berry talked about AI overwhelm and offered concrete, accessible ways professionals can build momentum.
Daniel Price inspired the room with his philosophy of making yourself a weapon with AI, by staying laser-focused on what actually creates value.
Dennis Squibb brought it home with leadership insights on building confidence in others, showing what works when helping teams adopt AI and shake off old assumptions.
Afterwards Leanne said, “That was fun! You are an expert moderator.” Dan followed up with, “Best moderator ever.” And an audience member pulled me aside to say: “That was such a meaningful conversation!” Feedback like that is why I love moderating panels. Because great conversations don’t just download information, they move people to think and act differently.
We closed with this question for the audience:
“What’s one small shift you could make this week to start thinking about or using AI differently?”
And, because I couldn’t resist, I asked:
“Has anyone ever used AI to pump themselves up?”
Phones came out and the room lit up with people reading their AI-generated hype. Some laughed and kept theirs to themselves. Others shared out loud. Then Dan grabbed the mic and read his pep talk to the crowd: “You’re not just speaking at this conference — you’re leading it. You’ve been through storms, built businesses, and innovated where others played it safe... You’re the one they’ll remember.”
The audience cracked up. It was the most human moment of the day. We weren’t talking at each other, we were connecting.
AI Might Miss the Details, But It’s Part of the Big Picture
My bad intros broke the ice. But they also proved the point that AI is powerful, imperfect, and profoundly human in how we interact with it.
It’s a mirror that reveals our assumptions and exposes our blind spots. So the real question isn’t if AI will change your career, It’s how you’ll show up in the shift.
Here’s my advice, straight from the panel:
Don’t start by “finding a use case.” Start with where you want to grow.
Experiment often.
Use AI not just to work faster, but to think bigger.
And, if you want, let it hype you up when you’re feeling small.
Thanks again to RISE Professionals, my knowledgeable (and patient) panelists, and everyone who showed up to laugh, learn, and experiment with what’s possible.
