The AI-Powered Workplace: How Gen Z’s Approach to Work Will Shape the Future

In this episode of the Revenue Remix podcast, hosted by Summer Poletti, we delve into the impact of AI on the future of work. Summer is joined by Fleur Prince, co-founder of the AI Insights podcast and AI community builder, who shares her unique journey from the army to AI and her role in fostering young AI leaders. The episode explores the importance of adapting to technological advancements, ethical AI usage, and the evolving work environment, especially from a Gen Z perspective. Fleur emphasizes the need for human-AI collaboration and continuous learning to stay relevant in the rapidly changing job market. The discussion also highlights the significance of ethical considerations and the necessity of upskilling workers to ensure they remain valuable contributors in an AI-driven world.

• Connect with Fleur on LinkedIn
• Check out AI Insights podcast

Related Resources & Links:

• Blog Post: Leveraging AI to accelerate B2B sales
• AI-powered smart sales playbook program

Show notes:

• Connect with Summer on LinkedIn
• Visit Rise of Us for more information about Summer's services or to guest on the show and share your insights
• Episode recorded and edited using Descript
• Repurposed content, such as this description created using CastMagic

00:00 Introduction to Revenue Remix
00:58 Meet Fleur Prince: AI Enthusiast and Community Builder
01:55 Summer's Journey into AI
03:20 Fleur's Unexpected Path from Army to AI
08:24 The Future of Work and AI
14:20 Responsible AI Use and Ethical Considerations
24:43 Fleur's Podcast and Community Work
27:58 Balancing Work and Life: Fleur's Passion for Travel
29:57 Conclusion and How to Connect with Fleur

Transcript

0:00

The first time I saw The Lost coming by, I was like Right. I have to deal with this for the next 40 years. I should actually read into it and actually what they decided to do. Welcome back to Revenue Remix, a podcast from Rise of Us, where we take a fresh spin on driving revenue growth, hosted by Summer Pelletti. A fractional CRO who works with business owners and leaders who feel held back by outdated systems. This podcast explores how adaptable, unified frameworks can transform static processes, equipping teams to meet evolving customer needs and drive resilient, lasting growth. Each episode features insights from Summer and her guests, offering practical strategies to sidestep common pitfalls and build real revenue momentum. It's time to remix the way we think about growth. Enjoy the show. Hey, welcome back. I'm Summer Poletti, Fractional CRO of Rise of Us and your host of Revenue Remix. Today, I'm joined by Fleur Prince, who is the co founder of the AI Insights podcast and an AI community builder and a whole bunch of other stuff that we're going to learn about today. Fleur is joining us while on holiday in Malta in its eight 15. I mean, that is some dedication right there for anybody who thinks that Gen Z workers don't want to work. She is our first international guest and also our first Gen Z guest. I talk a lot about CEOs being future focused and building the future of work and who better to join that conversation than a young leader. Welcome Fleur. Hi, I'm so happy to be on the show Summer. Thank you for having me. And for, yes, and for anyone, um, who is uninitiated with Women X AI, Fleur and I met on one of the AI Social Saturdays. Go hang out there. You learn a ton and you meet some really awesome people. Yeah, that's so true. I really love it. I know, right? I've got some questions prepared for you, but before we get started, maybe for the benefit of my audience more than anything, I want to talk just a little bit about my own journey into AI. So I'm non techie. Everyone at AI Social Saturday knows that. And when I started hearing about generative AI, at the end of 2022, I thought, well, that is not for me. And then doubt starts creeping in. And I was like, I wonder if this is the thing that I fail to adapt to in the workforce. And I was working in early 23. One of my employees, my first Gen Z, Employee someone pursuing a computer science degree and they told me how cool chat GPT was and I was like, well, that is not for me I am not a technical person and they're like no get over here right now and they made me watch them use it And then I was like, oh my gosh, it's not as technical as it sounded. And so anyway, I am Gen X I remember when it I was new in the workplace and no one wanted to listen to new ideas from young people. And I am here to tell anybody who's my age, you gotta listen to and learn from your Gen Z folks because there's fresh skills and fresh ideas. And so here is the intro. Without further ado, let's let Fleur talk about herself and we're gonna learn. So I always like an opening like an icebreaker. So what is a Youth activity, or hobby, or maybe a first job. That might be a little surprising to us. Good question. In my case, it would be that I actually used to be in the Army. That was actually my first official real job after college. Wow, okay. Look, I was surprised. Okay. Now I'm curious, as an American, it is voluntary and I know that in some other places it's not. So is it something that you had to do or something you chose to do? No, so it's actually something I chose to do because actually back when I was 16, it was actually my dream. I was like, I want to join the army, but my parents were like, first get a degree and then if you still feel like it, you should join the army. So I was like, okay. Let's do that. So that's how I ended up voluntarily joining the army. Wow. And then now you work in technology. So now I'm super curious and I'm going to throw all of my questions out the door. No worries. Was there some sort of introduction to technology there? Or did, like, Because joining the army, I think you don't get to say, okay, no, and then go to school. So how on earth did you go from the army to where you are now? Not in Malta, but in your career? Um, well, so the thing was when I was in the army, I really didn't because I really have like a strong sense of discipline, resilience, and I wanted to learn more about teamwork. And these are skills you actually get to learn there very quickly the first week uh, when your sergeant tells you to start running. Um, but actually, but unfortunately I actually had an accident afterwards, which made it impossible for me to get back on track in full physical condition, because in the Netherlands you do have to be at a certain physical condition so you can perform your job as a soldier. So then they decided, okay, either you can stay here two years, or you can leave. And I said, okay, I'll just leave because I don't want to stick here for two years with a broken leg. I'd rather do something with my brain. That is a terrible injury. Oh, wow. Okay. And then now you do AI. Okay. Yeah. No, um, so I actually did a, actually, the funny thing is I actually went into finance first after that. So I was actually part of, um, the audit staff for EY for Wow. Okay. Okay. It was pretty cool. I was a pursuit, a junior pursuit manager there at the time. It was really cool because you got to learn how, uh, a company, an accounts, uh, company like EY actually brings in all their million dollar deals, which was really cool. And I got to train the engagement teams. Okay. That sounds like a nice thing to have seen and learned. It was really cool. I really learned a lot there as well, uh, when it comes to how to make quick decisions and what's. Teamwork entails, but it wasn't a total fit for me. I love the finance. I love doing stuff with numbers, but didn't real feel it real like me yet. And then I discovered deepfakes of all things on the internet. Yeah. Yeah. And those are a challenge. Yeah, definitely. But it also got me interested in the technology behind it because I was actually interested. How are people who do software engineering actually able to build this? Which got my curiosity, which was where I like, okay, let me do a monster in AI. And then. See how that goes. So I joined a master called media innovation, which was really cool. But then I was like, Hey, I want to learn more, but I also want to work already. And I learn on the go. So then I found a nonprofit that at the time that offered me a job as a community manager, so I could build, help build their AI community. And at the same time, learn what's actually happening in the world of AI. Fun thing was, yeah, I learned more about AI with them, so I ended up actually quitting my master and being like, hey, I can learn more on the job, and that's how I pretty much rolled into AI. That's interesting, and the technology is moving so quickly. I'm aging myself here. I already said I was Gen X. It doesn't matter. My daughter's in her last year of high school. And I told her in between, like this summer, she's enrolling in university in the fall. But I said, in the summer, you're going to take an AI course because everything they're going to teach you in college, you can throw it out the door. The working world is like a decade past and you're not going to learn skills that are really applicable. So, Yeah, it's no surprise that you're going to learn on the job. I mean, I'm making myself learn on the job, right? I was like, Oh, I need a, I need to do Riverside because I'm going to start my podcast. So let's figure out how to use this tool. And we learn by doing, right? True. True. I think college does give a good basis when it comes to studying, but I do agree that it's important to learn on the job because you learn so much more. Yeah. And academia is just, it's behind the working world in technology and in marketing. You could still get your accounting degree, and that's fine. Yeah, no, exactly. If you want to go back to finance. Okay, so let's see. So we're talking a little bit about work evolving. This is a nice segue into one of the actually prepared questions I had. So how do you envision the future of work evolving? That's one of the things I talk about a lot, especially with the integration of new technologies. I mean, I'm at the later stage in my career. You're at the earlier stage in your career. So you're probably even more interested in. Where is this all going? I agree so much with that, especially after the AI Act, uh, was implemented here in Europe. Because the first time I saw the laws coming by, I was like, wait, I have to deal with this for the next 40 years. I should actually read into it and actually what they decided to do. Which is, so that's actually why I was thinking about, so sorry, let's go back to the question. That's okay. Pretty much, pretty much when it comes, okay, no, awesome. But when it comes to the, when I think about the future of work, how it will be shaped, I think it will be mostly by intelligent automation, but also human AI collaboration and also more flexible work environments. I think this comes back actually to what you said earlier when it comes to Gen Z, and they don't have a work ethic because I completely disagree with it. I think we work differently compared to previous generations because, well, on one side we, we take like. Work life balance a bit more seriously. And so we try to keep everything separate, but at the same time, we also work on different hours. So we might not, for example, work in the morning, but we do, do finish our task. And I think that's the difference that you see as well in the workforce when you're interviewing for jobs, where they say also people who are becoming our managers are like, 40 hour salary. Um, but how you get the job done, that's up to you. as long as you get the job done. Yes. And for one, I also don't care where you sit while you're getting the job done unless it has to be customer facing. If you have to meet with a customer, you better be in their office and you better be on time. But aside from that, who cares? As long as the work gets done. Yes, I hear you. I have long been a champion of that. And it, it might be because I have been working remotely for, I'm going to age myself. I've been working remotely for almost 15 years now in a hybrid situation most of the time. But it was, it was work life balance for me. I had a toddler and a Between three and four hour per day commute and it wasn't worth it. And I told, you know, I told my manager, I was like, I'm going to look for something else. Or if we could figure something out here, I'll stay, but I can't do this. Like I have to be at home. And they're like, okay, you know, so, but they made me lie to clients. It was super weird because, you know, back in 2010, remote work was not common and people had this stigma. Like if you were at work, I'm sorry, if you were at home. You weren't really working. Okay. Whatever. So I completely agree with you. Yes. Work life balance. We saw our parents work their selves half to death. No. And to be project focused. I love it. That actually takes back to what you learn in the army as well, by the way. Where it actually is, you get instructions. Then you can ask questions once. Or if you don't understand, you can ask it a few times more. But then afterwards, like, how you get the job done is up to you. Well, of course, in the ethical lines. But as long as you get the job done. I love it. I feel like it takes a confident leader to be able to trust somebody that much. I'm getting into things where I, I shake my finger a little bit, but like, whenever I see somebody who's dictating exactly where you work, exactly how and all this, I'm like, is it because you don't have. Like, there's something there missing, I don't know. Yeah, but I think it's also important for people who actually, so if you hire an employee, you have to be able to trust them, otherwise, um, it's going to conflict with your personal schedule as well, your work life balance, if you have to constantly monitor someone, and I think that it's better to decide, okay, let's just go separate ways, instead of trying to micromanage that person. Yes, not a micromanager, boy. Um, okay, so what can Gen Z workers teach their co workers and maybe their millennial and Gen X? I mean, there's, there's so many generations in the workforce right now. What can you teach your co workers about adapting to technological advancements and fostering inclusive environments where we're not all driving each other crazy? Well, I think Gen Z is pretty much like natural digital first, um, but that also gives us like an advantage when it comes to navigating new tech. We can, like, teach our colleagues the technology that isn't something to fear, but that it's actually a tool to leverage to work smarter. Um, because I noticed, for example, when I showed my colleagues, you know, you can automate when it comes to meetings, right? So you don't have to, like, go back and forth between hundreds of email chains. You can just send them a link to your agenda and then have someone else planning the time that works for them. It's these small things that will help you work so much more efficiently. Yeah. And. And while you're at it, that meeting scheduler can have your preferences loaded in there so that you don't go back to back or whatever, because I hear people who are like, Oh, I don't want people scheduling on my calendar because I don't want back to back meetings or this or that. And it's like, no, no, no. You set all of those parameters and then people are automatically scheduling with you. But it's stuff that you've already kind of decided is okay. Right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That's sometimes what I've noticed when people are like, well, how do you have so much time left? Or how do you get all this stuff done? And I'm like, I just automate a lot of stuff that just gives me room for other things to do that are more important than wasting my time on an email chain, trying to figure out what the perfect Thursday at three o'clock is going to be for everyone. Yes. Yeah, I, I agree. I don't, I don't have time for that. So AI. clearly is transforming the way that we work, but there's a fine line between efficiency and ethical responsibility. And I think this is where you and I have some alignment. How do you think that companies should approach responsible AI use? Like we're going to make people efficient, but we don't want to make human beings obsolete, right? I think when it comes to using AI responsible, it really depends on I always say it depends on the person itself, the ethic that they have been taught. Um, and that's why I actually always recommend for people just in general to take an ethics course. It can even be a sociology or something similar to that. So you can learn what fits in those parameters. I think especially for business leaders, uh, this is a good thing to refresh, especially when it comes to using AI, because that's also always going to be the question. Do you need AI or do you need automation? Like, what are you looking for? Yeah, you're gonna start with a goal. And we probably don't have time for this, but I do see a lot of people conflating AI with automation, and they're buddies, but they're not the same thing. No, exactly. Exactly. And that's why I love, I love the AI because it makes my job more sparkles. But as I do notice that business leaders need to be asked these questions by their staff and when they are making like a decision, like, Oh, I see AI is getting hot. Do we need it? The first question is going to be on my mind is always going to be, okay, but what do we need it for? If everything's already running well, are we looking for more efficiency? Certain tasks, like in the supply chain or. Are we just wanting to automate a few things so that our employees have time for something else? No, that's a very important question to ask. So that was a clever thought. I haven't heard anybody tell people to go back to college and take the ethics or the sociology course. I mean, I do tell people that you should consider your local community college for fairly cheap courses if you want to upskill, and I'm thinking, okay, there's a sociology course, there's one that's pretty easy, they're all online now, so that was really clever, I'm gonna steal that. And for the audience who's paying attention, you can learn from the people who are earlier in their career than you are. 26. Aside from, we're not gonna talk about how old I am. Aside from taking a course and maybe defining your own ethics before you bring AI into your, um, into your Looking broader, since you're community focused, what ethical considerations do you think are being overlooked when it comes to AI adoption? In business, specifically, when it comes to on the ethical perspective, what I see in a lot of communities happen is that the question comes back to the question, we need to use it. We need to use them now, but there's not a lot of looked at. Okay, what kind of data they're going to use often? They immediately turn to their clients data, but. It's not, you know, cleaned or it does not conclude to the GT, sorry, GDPR regulations to be able to use, because often times you have to anonymize it before you can put it into a model. And if you use an open source model, for example, of Hugging Face, OpenAI or Deep Seek, it goes to servers that might be out of your area where you're allowed to operate and that can endanger your clients. So I think that's often. Where I say, make sure that you get someone who is either specialized in data governance, or who is a data specialist, or even a data scientist. Because they can start asking these questions. Yeah, I definitely think that the ease of use of a platform like ChatGPT and the you talk to it like a person. I think it's easy to forget that it's online, it's computer, like would you put anything in there that you wouldn't put on your website? And I don't know that everybody always thinks through that. And then you, you brought up an interesting concept of using the client data. I also wonder, your client contracts, are you in breach of that? Are they okay with you using their data to, um, you know, do something that isn't specifically covered in the service agreement? I guess is what I'm rambling on. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah. And then maybe it's because I've spent so much time in human resources, whenever I think about somebody talking about meta is going to talk about all of our programming is going to be done by AI. And I'm like, okay, that's a lot of jobs lost. And where are those people going to go? And who's responsible for upskilling them? When I think about the future of work, I think we have to think about the impact on workers and making sure that people have the right to earn a living. As long as they need to earn a living. And I don't, I don't hear a lot of people talking about that. So that's why I yell about it. No, I totally get where you're Your privacy concerns are valid too. No, I totally get where you're coming from. Because I've actually seen it happen where people actually got replaced by AI. Because it was so much easier to give it to an AI model than compare it to a human. But what I also say is Well, two things. One is going to be, uh, we still need people who can debug code because AI is great, but if it ever breaks, or for some reason, what's ever AI has made with like in Python, for example, code it, it doesn't work. You're still going to need like a senior software engineer to at least look at it and be like, okay, where is the code going wrong? If the AI for some reason can't find it. So indeed, that's why I'm also always looking at, okay, it's great that an AI model can replace five junior software developers, but someone's still going to need to train them in case this does happen. So that's also why I say there should always be a human in the loop between the AI and the end product. But what I also say is that, um, 80 percent of the jobs that are being, are going to be replaced. Means also that there's going to be all new kinds of jobs also coming on to the market and the same as what happened with the industrial revolution where a lot of things also got automated in the factories, but still people managed to find work afterwards because they taught themselves the skills that's, well, in this case, the steam machines couldn't replace and it's going to be the same with AI, we're going to see it take over some Uh, like remedial tasks, but also tasks that might be more complex, but there will also be new jobs for humans to take over. That's also why I said you will see a lot of human AI collaboration in the future happening. Yeah. I like that. And then I just wonder, is it the private sector's responsibility or maybe the government's responsibility to upskill? or re skill these workers. That's where it's not up to me. I'm here for re skilling workers, but I'm not hearing as many people talking about that because I hear like they'll be re skilled. It's like, but who's going to do that? Is it on the worker themselves? Is it, you know, where does that land? And I feel like that's a question that at least in the U. S. here, we haven't quite figured that out. I think when it comes to here, um, when it comes to private company, they're really going to look like, how is this worker going to be added value if I need to upskill him? I think that's the downside of being in a private company. They really look at, okay, what's your use, what's your usage going to be after we upskill you with AI? Skills, for example. So in that case, I would say it's really up to the worker themselves, too, because you have a lot of free AI courses that you can look online, provided by Google, Microsoft, OpenEye, you name it, they have stuff. But, for example, what they did actually in the Netherlands is that they actually, the government made it mandatory. That all government employees have to be, um, what do you call it, AI literates. So they have to take, and also people in companies are also responsible that if their employees are using AI, that they are also trained in AI literacy. So in that perspective, I would say it actually is up to the employer and the governments. To make sure that this happens. And in the Netherlands, they already showed an example by actually making it mandatory. Um, that's up to the rest of the world to catch up or make their own laws around this, but I would definitely say to the entire world, please invoke AI literacy because it is going to change how we're going to work for the next 40 years. At least people are going to need these skills if you want them to keep functioning in our society to keep going. Okay. So. We're going to pause for a quick break from my sponsor, but don't go anywhere when we come back, we're going to explore Fleur's podcast founder journey and some of her community work. Summer Poletti of Rise of Us helps her clients transform by building adaptable, customer focused sales systems that replace outdated models. With these new frameworks, their teams can respond quickly to evolving customer needs, reduce friction, and work as one cohesive unit. This shift equips them with the tools to drive consistent growth, lowering churn, and creating lasting customer relationships. As a result, they achieve sustainable revenue growth that positions them ahead of competitors and prepared for future challenges. Together, you and Summer will create a foundation that not only meets today's demands, but supports long term success. Okay, what kind of sponsor, by the way, do you have? Just curious in general. Oh, you're in the sponsor. Nice. My, uh, my advisor had me do that. It's like I used 11 labs to create a commercial from, for my firm and then I stick it in there and it talks about the work that I do with my clients. So right now it's me. Oh my god, I would love a sponsor. Riverside, if you're paying attention, I will tell people that I like you sometimes. Exactly. Give us sponsors. I would love a sponsor. I know. I would as well. So I was listening to a podcast about business podcasting, Howberry Meta, right? Yeah. And the guy was talking about how you can get some sponsors, but that you probably have to put in a year or two's worth of work so that they see that there's momentum. I mean, I see so many, you probably do as well, where it's like, Oh, I have a podcast. And then there's no more than like four episodes. Exactly. And then they, they said, you're never going to make more than like a few thousand dollars here and there. But I would take that. Yeah, exactly. That's enough. I can live with that. Yeah, for sure. Okay. Okay. So let's get back to it. Yes. All right. Welcome back. Let's see, Fleur, can you share what inspired you to start your podcast and tell the audience the key themes that you explore? Yeah. So I'm actually the co host of AI Insights because I saw a gap in how AI was being discussed. Like it was either too technical or too fear driven. And I really wanted to create a space where we could break down like the AI trends that are happening in a way that's accessible or relevant, especially for Gen Z. Um, which is why we talk about everything, uh, from AI in the workplace to ethical considerations and even pop culture influences. Um, but really the goal is to help people engage with AI in a meaningful way, uh, rather than feeling overwhelmed by it and also give it a Jamsie twist. I like that. There is a lot of fear. I mean, it almost depends on which social media platform you're on, right? If you're on LinkedIn, it's all hype. And if you're elsewhere, it's all fear. So then, is your, um Is your target listener another young professional, or maybe somebody still in school, or is it for everybody? Because I'm wondering, is it for me and my clients, or is it for our kids? Yeah, so we specifically focus on people who are AI enthusiasts, AI experts, but also people who are just very curious about what's happening in the world of AI, but we are focusing mostly on adults, so people from 18 years and older. All right. Nice. So then beyond your work in AI, I know you're also passionate about community work. Can you share a project or an initiative that brings meaning to you? Yeah, actually, I'm currently working as a hub leader for young AI leaders in the Netherlands, specifically for AI for Good, which was set up by ITU. Which is the Telecommunication Department of the United Nations. So, I'm actually making a community of young AI leaders, so people between 18 and 30, uh, who wanna, how do you call it, uh, make their soft skills better, who want to actually start AI projects, and just become the next AI leaders of the future. Wow, that sounds very rewarding. It's so much fun. I also talk to people of my own age who are interested in AI. That's so cool. So much fun. I bet. It is fun. I think that all, all of the hype and fear or whatever aside, it's fun to be involved with something that changes as quickly as it does and that has these transformative powers. It can be very fun. Yeah, exactly. Especially, um, because our community is a mix of people between ethical, those that can code, um, but also those that like me that are kind of in the middle, like I can code, but. Um, I mostly am more a gatherer of people, community builder, as my title says. Yes, yes, somebody has to do that work. Very good. So you brought it up first, but it's always a question that I ask people near the end of the discussion. What is, I mean, you do a lot. I saw your LinkedIn, and if you Google you for how long you've been a professional, you've done a lot. But. It's not all work. You talked about work life balance before I did. So what is something that you do that is not community building or AI or working or whatever? That brings balance to your life. I would say traveling, to be honest. I really love traveling. to say, a holiday in Malta! I love taking short breaks in between my job, where I just go to a country I've never visited before. And just, like, exploring the culture. So today, for example, I went to a temple that was from the Bronze Age. And seeing how they build these megalithic structures, which was super cool. It is cool. I just really love the history aspect. That is an advantage of being located in Europe. Here in the United States, the oldest thing I could get to easily. is like 150 years old. I mean, you have a lot of culture from the Native Americans, for example, right? Yes, of course. Well, here and there, we didn't preserve it as much as we probably should have. Yeah. I used to watch movies like, um, like National Treasure, for example, which is super cool always. I always loved with Nick Cage. So that was always why I was fascinated with American history. Actually, at 400 years, if the, if the, uh, what's it called, the Declaration of Independence? Yeah. I guess you probably. Well, I'm on the West Coast, so the West Coast is newer. You go to Boston, it's, it's what we call old, and there's things that are 400 years old. That is really cool. I will definitely do that next time. I've been in New York, but not in Boston specifically. Boston is interesting because it's the oldest part of the United States that is U. S., not native. There's a distinction there. Um, but like little streets. It's awesome. Thanks for the recommendation. For certain. So what's your favorite place you've visited so far? Um, to be honest, actually, Malta, there's like 7, 000 years of history. Just what, when you walk around here. I was so fascinated by it. Like the past three days, I've been looking everywhere and I'm like, oh my god, the island just has the entire human history on it. That is very cool. Let's wrap this up. All right, Fleur, what is the best way for our listeners to connect with you or follow you if they want to learn more about you or your podcast? Um, I would say the best thing is always to contact me on LinkedIn. Uh, that's where I am mostly active. Good. I'll put it in the show notes. Awesome. And if you want to follow me, uh, you should definitely subscribe to my podcast on Spotify on web or Apple podcast. Wonderful. I'll link it in the show notes as well. All right. Well, I'm going to let you get back to your holiday and exploring ancient civilization. So Flora, thank you for joining me on Revenue Remix and for sharing your insights. Remember to score. If I could speak or read my transcript. Remember to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and on our YouTube channel for more insights and interviews. And when we're talking about AI, the future of work is now. Let's harness its power to remove barriers to growth, operate with efficiency and with empathy for our workers and our clients. I appreciate the listen, and I will see you next week.