AI: Voice or Victim?

The Human Advantage in the Age of AI with Aaron Mazze

What happens when two marketers, technologists, and entrepreneurs sit down to talk honestly about AI, creativity, branding, and the future of work? In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, Greg Boone sits down with Aaron Mazze (inveniv.com) for a wide-ranging conversation about the collision of AI, marketing, human connection, and innovation. From Greg’s journey through IBM, entrepreneurship, and nightclub ownership to Aaron’s background in music, branding, and digital experiences, this episode explores how unconventional experiences shape better leaders in the AI era. They dig into the growing “sea of sameness” created by AI-generated content, why authentic human interaction is becoming more valuable than ever, and how brands can stand out by embracing personality, experimentation, and community. The conversation also dives into: Why in-person collaboration still matters in an AI-driven world The resurgence of print media and physical experiences How AI is reshaping education and employability The difference between using AI tools and understanding AI itself Why companies need to rethink “the test” instead of fearing AI adoption The role of trust, storytelling, and human presence in business growth How podcasting and owned media are becoming critical business assets Greg also shares insights from his upcoming book, AI at the Speed of Trust, and explains why businesses that fail to embrace AI literacy risk falling behind faster than they realize. This episode is a reminder that while AI can automate processes, amplify content, and accelerate productivity, human curiosity, creativity, trust, and relationships are still the real differentiators. Key Takeaways AI won’t replace authentic human connection — but it will expose weak brands faster Businesses need to focus on personality-led and community-led growth AI literacy is quickly becoming a baseline expectation in the workforce Creativity and experimentation matter more than polished perfection The future belongs to people who can combine technology with human insight Chapters 00:00 – Why print media may be making a comeback 01:00 – Greg Boone’s origin story and early tech career 03:00 – IBM, entrepreneurship, and failed ventures 05:00 – Lessons learned from nightclub ownership 08:00 – Human connection in the age of AI 11:00 – Why trust matters more than ever 13:00 – Michael Jordan, branding, and business influence 16:00 – The power of putting yourself out there 18:00 – Writing about AI in a fast-changing world 20:00 – Podcasting, community, and owned media 21:00 – The return of physical marketing experiences 22:00 – AI note-taking tools and productivity 26:00 – AI in education and the future workforce 27:00 – Why schools may need to “change the test” 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution. Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center. Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us. 🔗 Follow us and dive deeper: On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/ [https://voiceorvictim.com/] Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone] Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/] © 2026 Walk West Production

The Sentient Startup: Building AI-Native Companies with Arnaud Frade

What happens when startups stop treating AI as a tool—and start building with it at the core? Greg Boone sits down with Arnaud Frade—executive leader, innovator, and author of The Sentient Startup—to unpack what it really means to build an AI-native business in today’s rapidly shifting landscape. This isn’t another surface-level conversation about automation or productivity hacks. Arnaud challenges the way we think about organizations, leadership, and intelligence itself—arguing that the next generation of companies won’t just use AI… they’ll behave more like living systems. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro: AI Isn’t the Future—It’s Now 01:10 – Meet Arnaud Frade & The Sentient Startup 03:05 – What Is a “Sentient” Startup? 05:40 – Why Most Companies Are Thinking Too Small About AI 08:20 – From Tools to Systems: The Real Shift in AI 11:15 – The Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make with AI Adoption 14:30 – AI-Native vs. AI-Enabled Companies 18:05 – Building Organizations That Learn and Adapt 21:40 – The Human Role in an AI-Driven Company 25:10 – Leadership in the Age of Intelligent Systems 28:45 – Where AI Strategy Fails (and How to Fix It) 32:20 – The Risk Isn’t AI—It’s Standing Still 35:50 – What the Next Generation of Startups Will Look Like 39:10 – Practical Steps to Start Building with AI Today 42:30 – Arnaud’s Vision for the Future of Work 45:00 – “Last Chat” Segment 47:30 – Final Thoughts & Takeaways Greg and Arnaud get into: -Why most companies are still thinking too small about AI -The shift from tools → systems → “sentient” organizations -What leaders get wrong about AI adoption (and how to fix it) -How to build companies that scale intelligently without losing human purpose -The real risk: not AI taking jobs—but leaders failing to evolve If you’re still asking “How do we use AI?”—this episode pushes you toward a better question: “What kind of organization are we becoming because of it?” 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution. Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center. Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us. 🔗 Follow us and dive deeper: On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/ [https://voiceorvictim.com/] Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone] Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/] © 2026 Walk West Production

Everyone Has the Same AI Tools. That's Exactly the Problem.

If your AI inputs look like everyone else's, your outputs will too. And in a market where AI is accelerating everything from outbound campaigns to hiring decisions, sounding like everyone else is no longer a neutral outcome. It's a competitive liability. Greg Boone sits down with Brett Berhoff, Founder and CEO of Strategy.xyz and a Bay Area-based business strategist and AI advisor, for a candid conversation about what AI is actually doing to go-to-market strategy, sales, and the companies that think they're keeping pace. Brett operates at ground zero. Driverless cars outnumber taxis. Every billboard is an AI company. But the most important thing he brings to this conversation isn't what Silicon Valley is doing with AI. It's what the rest of the country keeps getting wrong. This episode is built for founders, operators, and revenue leaders who need a realistic read on where AI creates leverage and where it quietly destroys trust. In this episode, you'll learn: * Why the same AI tools used the same way produce the same forgettable output across every company * How AI is changing go-to-market speed, volume, and velocity, and what that costs you if the human element is missing * What Silicon Valley consistently gets wrong about AI adoption * How to think about AI SDRs, avatars, and hyper-personalization without crossing into creepy * Why garbage in does not just mean garbage out in an AI context, it means catastrophic outcomes at scale * The one thing Brett tells every leadership team before anything else: drop the fear If you are responsible for growth, strategy, or revenue, this conversation will sharpen how you think about what AI can and cannot do for you right now. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to AI: Voice or Victim 01:10 Meet Brett Berhoff 02:30 Life at Ground Zero: Silicon Valley and AI 05:00 Driverless Cars and What They Signal 08:00 AI Adoption Across the Country 10:30 Every Company Is an AI Company 13:00 AI and the Next Generation 15:30 The SaaS Apocalypse: Real or Overhyped? 18:45 Jack Dorsey, Block, and the Nimbleness Question 21:30 When Big Companies Can't Turn the Ship 24:00 Go-to-Market in the AI Era: Three Components 27:30 People Still Buy From People 29:00 Speed, Volume, and the Risk of Losing the Human Touch 31:30 Hyper-Personalization vs. Creepy 33:00 Same Input, Same Output: The Real AI Problem 36:00 AI SDRs: When They Work and When They Don't 38:30 The Uncanny Valley of AI Avatars 40:00 Is Silicon Valley Ahead or Just Louder? 41:30 Does AI Talent Have to Be in the Bay Area? 42:30 What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About AI 43:30 One Thing to Do Right Now: Drop the Fear 44:30 Closing Thoughts 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution. Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center. Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us. 🔗 Follow us and dive deeper: On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/ [https://voiceorvictim.com/] Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone] Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/] © 2026 Walk West Production

From AI Anxious to AI Confident

What if the biggest barrier to using AI isn’t skill… it’s confidence? In this solo episode, Erica Rooney gets real about the hesitation so many people feel around AI and why that fear is costing you more than you think. From imposter syndrome to the myth that “AI is cheating,” she breaks down what’s actually holding people back and how to move forward without needing to become “a tech person.” This episode is not about tools. It’s about mindset, momentum, and building confidence through action. Erica shares her own journey from avoiding AI altogether to now teaching it, speaking on it, and using it daily. Her takeaway is simple: confidence doesn’t come first. It comes from doing. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, this is your push to start. 🔑 What You’ll Learn *  Why imposter syndrome is stopping people from using AI  *  How small, low-stakes experimentation builds real confidence  *  Practical ways to use AI at work (without feeling like you’re cheating)  *  How to rehearse hard conversations using AI  *  Why AI can make you more productive and more confident  *  The “confidence competence loop” and how it actually works  *  Simple daily habits to go from AI anxious to AI capable  ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Why AI fear is really about confidence  01:00 Erica’s honest story about avoiding AI  03:00 The real key: experimentation over expertise  04:00 Using AI to rehearse hard conversations  06:00 AI as a thought partner and perspective expander  07:00 Productivity, mental load, and confidence  08:30 AI as a coach when you don’t have one  09:30 Brain dumping and reducing overwhelm  10:30 From AI anxious to teaching others  11:00 Why implementation beats learning  12:00 The confidence competence loop explained  12:45 How to start today (for real this time) 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution. Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center. Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us. 🔗 Follow us and dive deeper: On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/ [https://voiceorvictim.com/] Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone] Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/] © 2026 Walk West Production

What Most Businesses Get Wrong About AI

There’s a lot of noise around AI right now. Tools, demos, promises. But when it comes to actually building something that works, most companies hit a wall. In this episode of AI: Voice or Victim, Greg Boone sits down with Kerry Prince to talk about what it really takes to move from AI curiosity to real execution. This is a builder’s conversation. Less hype, more reality. Kerry brings a grounded perspective on how teams should be thinking about AI systems, where things tend to break down, and why speed without structure usually creates more problems than progress. Greg pushes on what matters most for businesses right now: making decisions, building responsibly, and not getting left behind. If you're tired of surface-level AI talk and want to understand what it actually takes to build and scale, this episode delivers. In this episode, we cover: * Why most AI projects stall before they create value * The difference between experimenting with AI and operationalizing it * Where teams waste time and money when adopting AI * How to think about systems, not just tools * What separates builders from spectators in the AI era * The risks of moving too slow—and too fast 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone navigating the AI revolution. Subscribe to AI: Voice or Victim for more conversations that move you from AI anxious to AI curious. Hosted by Erica Rooney and Greg Boone aka AISerious™, we're helping people and organizations embrace AI ethically, strategically, and with humanity at the center. Follow us and join the movement to shape the future — before it shapes us. 🔗 Follow us and dive deeper: On the web: https://voiceorvictim.com/ [https://voiceorvictim.com/] Greg Boone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregboone] Erica Rooney on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/] © 2026 Walk West Production