In this milestone 400th episode, I share my journey from failing maths in school to building with and teaching AI for a living. If you’ve ever thought AI is only for coders, data scientists or people with technical minds, this episode is for you. AI isn’t about coding. It’s about communication, pattern recognition and combining your expertise with the power of AI.
Why AI Is Not About Being Technical
When you type a question into ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot, the model is doing one thing: predicting the next word.
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown explains it simply. If you hear the phrase “Mary had a little”, your brain automatically predicts “lamb”. A large language model works in much the same way. It reads what you’ve written and predicts the word most likely to come next, based on patterns learned from billions of pages of text.
The irony isn’t lost on me. I failed maths in my Junior Cert, yet today I teach a technology built on probability. And the people I teach — the ones who tell me they’re not technical and that their brains don’t work that way — usually understand it within minutes.
Once you take the mystery out of AI, it’s not a technical subject. It’s a pattern subject. And humans are remarkably good at recognising patterns.
The Red Dot: Where You Stand in the AI Age
Recently, I was delivering a workshop for a group of experienced marketing and communications professionals. As I introduced generative AI, I could see excitement in the room. I could also sense some nervousness.
The question was unspoken, but familiar:
“Will AI take my job?”
To answer it, I shared a graphic that breaks down how the world is using AI:
- 84% of people have never used AI
- 16% have tried it
- 0.3% are paying for it
- 0.04% are building with it
That final category — the tiny red dot — includes people creating custom assistants, building workflows and putting AI to work in meaningful ways.
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My message to the group was simple. After this training, you’re in the red dot.
You understand the tools. You know how to build. You’re not being replaced. You’re becoming more valuable because AI, combined with your expertise, is far more powerful than either on its own.
Why You Won’t Be Replaced
Your sector knowledge isn’t going anywhere.
Your instinct for what a stakeholder needs, what a minister will and won’t say, what a customer really means when they say “make it pop” — those insights belong to you.
AI can’t replicate lived experience, judgement, empathy or context.
What it can do is remove the work that drains your time and energy. The formatting. The first drafts. The meeting notes. The repetitive admin.
It allows you to spend more time on the work only humans can do.
Empathy. Ethics. Emotional intelligence. Strategic thinking. Sector expertise.
Add AI to that mix, and you become even more effective.
That’s the red dot.
Creating Equity Through AI Education
This is why I care so deeply about making AI education accessible.
For the first time in our careers, many of us can turn ideas into reality faster than ever before. We don’t always need large teams, big budgets or years of technical training to build something meaningful.
Humans have always had ideas. What we haven’t always had are the tools to bring them to life.
Now we do.
I believe we can create greater equity in the workplace by helping more people understand and use AI confidently. Too many people feel intimidated by this technology or fear what it means for their future.
Those are the people I most want to help.
Because AI isn’t replacing human potential.
It’s amplifying it.
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If you want to build your AI literacy and skills, I can help
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Sources
Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University (next-word prediction explainer): https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/the-surprising-power-of-next-word-prediction-large-language-models-explained-part-1/
AI population graphic (84/16/0.3/0.04 breakdown), widely shared on LinkedIn, Feb 2026: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexwang2911_artificialintelligence-generativeai-llms-activity-7431695933215612928-xp_-
ChatGPT user growth context, TechCrunch, Feb 2026: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/27/chatgpt-reaches-900m-weekly-active-users
Key Statistics
- 84% of the world has never used AI
- 16% have tried a free chatbot
- 0.3% are paying for AI access
- 0.04% are building with AI: custom assistants, custom workflows
- LLMs work by predicting the next word based on probability, learned from training data
About the Podcast Host
AI and Communications Specialist | Author | Podcaster | International Speaker
Joanne Sweeney is a recognised leader in digital marketing and digital transformation, specialising in the practical application of AI to enhance communication strategies. The founder of Digital Training Institute, Joanne, empowers leaders and communications professionals to leverage AI responsibly and effectively, ensuring transparency, trust, and tangible results.
She completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Programme in AI and Public Policy this summer before launching her fourth book AI Playbook, in September. Joanne has also published two editions of Public Sector Marketing Pro, which were preceded by her first title, Social Media Under Investigation Law Enforcement and the Social Web.
Her books have become go-to resources for governments, public sector and policing agencies, as well as marketing and communications professionals, all navigating the challenges of the changing Internet.
Joanne is the host of the AI SIX Podcast, a daily six-minute podcast that provides actionable insights, expert interviews, and practical advice to help professionals navigate the new world of work.
