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Recorded live at the Put Data First AI conference in Hollywood, Las Vegas, this episode of The Signal Room features a deep conversation between Chris Hutchins and Asha Mahesh, an expert in AI ethics, ethical leadership, and responsible data use in healthcare. The discussion goes beyond hype to examine what it truly means to humanize AI for care and build trust through ethical leadership and sound AI strategy.

Asha shares her personal journey into ethics and technology, shaped by lifelong proximity to healthcare and a commitment to ensuring innovation serves patients, clinicians, and communities. Together, they explore how ethical AI in healthcare is not just a policy document, but a way of working embedded into culture, incentives, and daily decision-making.

Key themes include building trust amid skepticism, addressing fears of job displacement, and reframing AI adoption through a 'what's in it for you' lens. Real-world examples from COVID vaccine development show how AI, guided by purpose and urgency, can accelerate clinical trials without sacrificing responsibility.

The conversation also discusses human-in-the-loop systems, the irreplaceable roles of empathy and judgment, and the importance of transparency and humility in healthcare leadership. This episode is essential listening for healthcare leaders, life sciences professionals, and AI practitioners navigating the ethical crossroads of trust and innovation.

Chapters with Keyword-Rich Descriptions

00:00 – Live from Put Data First: Why AI Ethics Matters in Healthcare
Chris Hutchins opens the conversation live from the Put Data First AI conference in Las Vegas, framing why ethics, privacy, and trust are amplified challenges in healthcare and life sciences.

01:05 – Asha’s Path into AI Ethics, Privacy, and Life Sciences
Asha shares her personal journey into healthcare technology, data, and AI ethics, shaped by early exposure to hospitals, science, and real-world impact.

03:00 – Human Impact as the North Star for Healthcare AI
Why improving patient outcomes, not technology novelty, must guide AI strategy, data science, and innovation decisions in healthcare.

04:30 – Humanizing AI for Care: Purpose Before Technology
A discussion on what “human-centered AI” really means and how intention and intended use define whether AI helps or harms.

06:20 – Embedding Ethics into Culture, Not Policy Documents
Why ethical AI is not a checklist or white paper, but a set of behaviors, incentives, and ways of working embedded into organizational culture.

07:55 – COVID Vaccine Development: AI Done Right
A real-world example of how data, machine learning, and predictive models accelerated clinical trials during the pandemic while maintaining responsibility.

10:15 – Mission Over Technology: Lessons from the Pandemic
How urgency, shared purpose, and collaboration unlocked innovation faster than tools alone, and why that mindset should not require a crisis.

12:20 – The Erosion of Trust in Institutions and Technology
Chris reflects on declining trust in government, healthcare, and technology, and why AI leaders must now operate from a trust deficit.

14:10 – Fear and AI: Addressing Job Loss Concerns
A practical conversation on why fear of AI replacing jobs persists and how leaders can reframe AI as support, not replacement.

16:30 – “What’s In It for You?” A Human-Centered Adoption Framework
How focusing on individual value, workflow relief, and personal benefit increases trust and adoption of AI tools in healthcare and life sciences.

18:00 – How Human Should AI Be?

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Healthcare can’t be technologically ready for AI until it’s emotionally ready first.

In this episode of The Signal Room, host Chris Hutchins sits down with Susie Brannigan — a trauma-informed nurse executive, Just Culture leader, and AI ethics advocate — to explore the human readiness gap in healthcare transformation.

Susie explains why trust must be rebuilt before new systems (Epic, AI, automation) can succeed, and how leaders can shift culture from blame to learning, from burnout to belonging. Drawing from real unit experience and frontline realities, she breaks down what emotionally safe leadership looks like during implementation, why “pilot” language often erodes credibility, and how Just Culture + trauma-informed leadership create the psychological safety required for change.

We also discuss where AI can genuinely help clinicians (and where it can go too far), including guardrails for empathy, presence, and patient-facing AI interactions. If you’re leading digital transformation, managing workforce fatigue, or trying to implement AI without losing your people, this conversation is a practical guide.

Key topics covered

• The human readiness gap: emotional readiness before technological readiness
• Trust erosion in healthcare leadership and why it blocks adoption
• Epic implementation lessons: skill gaps, overtime, and unit-level support
• What Just Culture is and how it reduces fear and turnover
• Trauma-informed leadership and psychological safety on high-acuity units
• Emotional intelligence alongside data literacy as a core leadership skill
• Designing AI with empathy, guardrails, and clinical accountability
• Practical advice for leaders: rounding with purpose, supporting staff, choosing sub-leaders

Chapters

00:00 Emotional readiness and the human readiness gap
01:10 Why implementations fail without trust
07:20 Epic vs AI: why this shift feels different
09:10 What Just Culture is and why it works
11:20 Trauma-informed leadership and secondary trauma
19:40 Emotional intelligence in tech-driven environments
22:10 AI, empathy, and guardrails for patient-facing tools
29:30 Coaching and simulation: preparing nurses for crisis care
34:40 Leadership advice for AI-era change
38:20 How to connect with Susie Brannigan
42:10 Closing

Connect with Susie Brannigan

• LinkedIn: Susie Brannigan
• Business page: Susie Brannigan Consulting
  (Susie shares culture assessments, Just Culture training, trauma-informed training, and leadership support across healthcare and other industries.)

If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who’s trying to implement change without losing trust. The future of healthcare transformation depends on psychological safety.

Stay curious. Stay human.

#JustCulture #HealthcareLeadership #AIinHealthcare

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In this insightful episode of The Signal Room, Chris Hutchins sits down with Amit Shivpuja, Director of Data and AI Enablement at Walmart, to delve into the critical role of ethical leadership and responsible AI in building trust for successful AI adoption. Recorded live at the Put Data First Conference in Las Vegas, they discuss why trust forms the foundation for scaling AI technologies effectively.

Amit emphasizes that AI can only reach its potential when supported by trustworthy data, explaining that 'garbage in is garbage squared out,' highlighting the risks of bias amplification. The conversation covers how early stakeholder involvement and human oversight are essential components of responsible AI strategies. Amit also addresses workforce concerns by advocating transparent communication about AI's impact and upskilling.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into how healthcare leadership, AI ethics, and AI readiness intersect to create scalable, trustworthy AI systems. This episode is a must-listen for leaders and innovators aiming to integrate ethical AI principles into their business strategy.

Connect with Amit on LinkedIn, explore his book 'The Data and AI Compass,' and follow his Substack for deeper insights into AI governance and data strategy.

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