161: Building AI Literacy at Scale ft. Dan Williamson

About this episode

Dan Williamson discusses the importance of education in AI implementation at Ryan Companies, focusing on how it transforms roles and work processes.

Description: Most companies jump straight to AI use cases, whereas Dan Williamson at Ryan Companies US, Inc. started with education first. Rather than chasing the bells and whistles or sexy use cases, his team focused on helping people rethink their roles and understand how this tech will change their work. Dan explains why he looks for willing business partners instead of fighting resistance, how rockstar superintendents became his best AI evangelists, and what happens when you prioritize eliminating the bane of most people's day over shiny objects. Education over bells and whistles Dan's approach to AI implementation at Ryan Companies flips the typical playbook. Instead of leading with sexy use cases, his team made an unexpected choice. "One of the biggest things we did from a strategic standpoint related to AI wasn't all the bells and whistles - which use cases are you going after, what's the sexy thing you're doing right now? It was honestly communicating and educating with our company, giving them the right education, giving them a foundational understanding in order for them to rethink about their roles and rethink about how this technology will change their work. Because…

People in this episode

Guest: Dan Williamson

Topics covered

• AI literacy
• education
• business transformation
• technology implementation
• workplace change

Keywords

• AI use cases
• education first
• business partners
• AI evangelists
• technology change

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Ryan Companies US, Inc.

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