#247 Penny Locaso: AI Was Meant to Do the Dishes. We Gave It the Painting Too.

Most of us are holding two completely incongruent feelings about AI right now. The excitement about what it could make possible. And a deeper, quieter discomfort about what it might already be taking from us. Penny Locaso put both of those feelings on the table in this conversation - and then backed them up with research. Penny is a behavioural scientist and provisional psychologist, completing her master's at 50. She draws on two decades of commercial leadership experience and original research to help leaders strengthen discernment under high pressure conditions. For the last 12 months she has been going deep on something that is only just beginning to be understood: the psychology of AI - how it is impacting our thinking, our feeling, and our behaviour. Her specific focus is leaders. Because if we're going to steer in the direction of human flourishing, leaders are the people we're most reliant on to do that. And right now, they're the ones most at risk. What Penny shared in this conversation is specific, evidenced, and something every senior leader needs to pay attention to. What's inside: - AI brain rot is real — what six months of daily AI use is already doing to problem solving ability and short term memory, and why the leaders who need their cognitive edge most are the ones most at risk of losing it - We gave AI the painting and the writing — why the promise of AI freeing us up for meaningful work hasn't materialised, and what's actually happening instead - The sycophancy problem — why AI's frictionless validation is more psychologically seductive than we want to admit, and what that means for decision quality - What's happening to teams — why teams are talking to each other less, what 63% of workers are lying about, and the hidden cost of humanising AI in the workplace - Intentional AI — Penny's definition, her Intentional AI Rubric, and what it actually looks like to remain the author of your own thinking     Book time to connect with Melissa - 15 mins: https://calendly.com/brave-feminine-leadership/curious-for-feedbackb WORK WITH MELISSA: The Executive Shift — 8-week intensive for senior women ready to lead at full power: https://bravefeminineleadership.com/the-executive-shift INFLUENCE Mastermind — 6-month peer advisory for sitting CEOs (max 6, invitation only): https://bravefeminineleadership.com/programs/ceo\_mastermind 1:1 Executive Coaching — https://calendly.com/the-brave-group/executive-coaching Penny's Intentional AI Rubric: https://app.hackinghappy.co/AIRubric   \----------------------- Craving inspiration? I send an email each Sunday about leadership reflection, top tips to build an intentional & sustainable life and other things that have captured my attention and are too good not to share! Sign up here: https://www.bravefeminineleadership.com/leadershipinspiration Loving the podcast? Leave us a short review. It takes less than 60 seconds & will inspire like-minded leaders to join the conversation!   Are we friends? Connect with Us. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bravefeminineleadership Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brave-feminine-leadership