#213: AI Answers - What AI Should Never Do, Enterprise Scaling, Governing AI & Navigating IT Roadblocks

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May 7, 2026

Practical tactics for moving companies out of AI policy paralysis and introducing AI into regulated teams. Debates on security versus speed, converting skeptics, and where AI should never take over. Tips for scaling AI across departments, high-impact HR use cases, and whether SMBs need a different playbook. Discussion of governance, guardrails, and opportunities beyond commoditized software.

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ADVICE

Get Really Good At One AI Assistant

Do master one core AI assistant platform deeply rather than chasing every new tool.
Paul advises focus on the assistant you have access to (Claude, Copilot, GPT) and learn advanced prompts and planning features first.

INSIGHT

Keep Learning While Focusing On Few HighValue Projects

Never stop learning but balance it with building around a few priority projects.
Paul recommends keeping three to five high-value projects (rocks) and applying AI to those to avoid distraction.

INSIGHT

People Friction Blocks CrossDepartment Scaling

People friction, not technology, is the main barrier to scaling AI across legal, HR, and finance.
Paul notes marketing often leads adoption while HR/legal resist due to job exposure and lack of AI literacy.

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Leadership wants AI everywhere. IT security can't keep up. Marketing is racing ahead while legal and finance dig in. And every week brings another story of an AI agent doing something nobody told it to do. Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips answer 15 listener questions on how to actually move organizations forward and where the real opportunities lie for individuals, SMBs, and enterprises right now.

00:00:00 — Intro

00:07:01 — How do you move a company out of AI policy paralysis?

00:08:54 — How should regulated, hands-on teams introduce AI?

00:12:30 — When companies are stuck, what tends to get them moving?

00:15:00 — Should IT security evolve to adopt AI quicker or should businesses slow down?

00:17:43 — What changes an AI-skeptic employee's mind?

00:21:18 — How should early-career professionals prioritize what to learn?

00:23:29 — Is there a point where you should stop learning and start building?

00:27:29 — Where do companies get stuck scaling AI across departments?

00:29:42 — Where is AI having the highest impact in HR?

00:33:04 — Do SMBs need a different AI playbook than enterprises?

00:35:55 — What should AI never take over?

00:39:43 — Who should be setting AI guardrails?

00:44:01 — If building software is commoditized, where is the real opportunity now?

00:47:48 — Could companies win by marketing themselves as AI-free?

00:50:15 — As generations grow up with AI, what different kinds of intelligence or capabilities do you think they’ll develop?

Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here

This episode is brought to you by the 2026 State of AI for Business Report webinar.

We surveyed more than 2,000 professionals on how they're actually using AI, what's working, and what's keeping them up at night. Join Paul Roetzer, Mike Kaput, and Taylor Radey on Thursday, May 14 at noon ET for a live walkthrough of the findings, plus Q&A. \

Register at smarterx.ai/webinars for live and on-demand access — and you'll also receive the ungated report.

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