The Joy of Learning Out Loud: How to Help Shape the AI Era | Laura Belmont

What if the biggest barrier to learning, leading, and taking a risk is the permission we haven’t yet given ourselves? Laura Belmont has spent her career asking who a system was built for, who it leaves behind, and how it could work better, from disability-rights advocacy and Big Law to Comcast, Civis Analytics, and now The Suite. Laura and Gabrielle explore what it means to learn out loud in a profession that prizes being right. Laura shares how becoming General Counsel helped her recognize her strengths, and reflects on learning to offer herself the same grace she encourages in her children: the first attempt is practice, not proof of failure.  That willingness to learn, experiment, and question assumptions matters even more as organizations navigate and incorporate AI. Laura shares the story of working to build an elaborate Slack bot… with less than perfect results.  But experimentation still matters. Laura explains why moving quickly is not the same as moving forward, why lawyers need to understand the tools they are advising on, and how making broad fears more specific can turn them into questions we can actually investigate and address. And while so much about AI is still being defined, Gabrielle and Laura challenge the assumption that we simply have to adapt to the systems being built around us. We can ask better questions, push for what we need, and help shape the standards that come next. Joy has a role in that work. Not as a way to ignore the risks or hard questions, but as fuel for curiosity, learning, experimentation, and the agency to participate in shaping what comes next.  **In This Episode:** - Why Laura stopped defining herself as risk-averse and started questioning what fear was actually holding her back from - What learning out loud makes possible in professions where people are expected to already know the answer - Why the simplest solution can be better than an over-engineered AI workflow - The difference between moving fast with AI and moving with direction - Why experimentation with AI can build useful capability even before the destination is clear - Why lawyers need firsthand understanding of AI tools in order to advise organizations effectively - What Laura means when she says every lawyer is now a product counsel - How breaking broad AI fears into specific concerns makes them easier to evaluate and address - Why responsible AI adoption does not have to be a binary yes or no - Why all of us have a role in shaping the standards of the AI era **Your Transformation Gym Rep** Choose one AI concern you’re carrying.  Ask your AI tool: ‘Interview me until we can name exactly what I’m worried about. Then help me break that concern into smaller, testable pieces.’ Take the best question it gives you to an actual human.  And, as Laura suggests, try one low-stakes use case that is simply fun. (Interview-me format inspired by Allie K. Miller.)  **Meet Laura** Laura Belmont is General Counsel of The Suite and leads content and programming strategy for The L Suite. Previously, she served as General Counsel of Civis Analytics and held legal leadership roles at Comcast and Latham & Watkins. **Ways to Connect with Gabrielle** **Subscribe to *Technically Joyful*** on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube: technicallyjoyful.com **Newsletter:** technicallyjoyful.com **GK Strategic Advisory:** gkstrategic.com **LinkedIn:** linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-kohlmeier