Rebecca Metters doesn't vibe code. She calls what she does directed intelligence: using AI to build real products while understanding every line it changes. It's how she built Gythr, an all in one platform for event organizers, without a technical background. On this episode of Five Seats, Dr. Kelsy Vick sits down with Rebecca, founder of Gythr, COO of Black is Tech, and part of the team at Gauntlet AI, to talk about using AI to build human connection.

Rebecca shares why she built Gythr so she could finally experience the rooms she was creating, and how she turned conference data into a Spotify Wrapped for attendees. She also walks through the AI helpers that keep her honest in her personal life, like a workout tracker that won't show her morning reports until she logs a workout, and a bot named Martha who tells her to stop spending money. You'll also learn her step by step method for building an AI voice profile, so your drafts actually sound like you and not like a corporate email.

We also get into why she refuses to believe anything is ever "enough," why curiosity matters more than knowledge, and why you can't shape where AI goes from the sidelines. Then Rebecca fills the five seats at her own dinner party, from the family who taught her to always stay and help clean up to the female founders who showed her how to show up as herself.

Five Seats is a dinner party style interview series from By Maven Media, where ambitious women share how they earned their seat in the room and who they'd want at their own table. New episodes every Tuesday.

Connect with Rebecca:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccametters/

Gythr: https://www.gythr.com/

Resources:

Grok Bot: https://x.ai/news/introducing-grok-bot

WhisprFlow: https://wisprflow.ai/

Granola: https://www.granola.ai/

Welcome to the dinner party!

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insta:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispod & @five5eats

youtube:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt

tiktok:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispod

This week, I'm bringing

you to a different table.

2

Welcome back to Wellness Fixes the Pod.

3

I'm your host, Dr.

4

Kelsey Vick, a board-certified orthopedic

doctor of physical therapy and a

5

women's health physical therapist If

you caught the bonus episode, you know

6

I just launched a new conversation

series called Five Seats Each

7

episode, I sit down with one woman

8

Who made space for herself in a room

that wasn't necessarily built for her

9

We talk about how she got

her seat at the table.

10

And at the end, she tells me the five

people she'd want seated at her own

11

The first three episodes came out

yesterday And I wanted you to hear them

12

right here so you get a little preview

13

today I'm sitting down with Rebecca of

Gather Gauntlet AI and Black is Tech

14

And we chat about using AI to

build real human connection

15

And why women need to be on the playing

field in order to shape AI Five Seats

16

has its own feed with new episodes every

Tuesday So if you love this one, search

17

Five Seats wherever you're listening

18

find the link in the show notes below

19

Rebecca Meadors hates

the phrase vibe coding.

20

She calls what she does

directed intelligence.

21

Trust but verify

22

It's how she built a software

company Focusing on bringing that

23

human connection to in-person events

24

without even having a

technical background.

25

Rebecca is the founder of Gather An

all-in-one platform for event organizers.

26

She's the COO of Black is Tech and

part of the team at Gauntlet AI

27

Today, we get into how she built

Gather so that she can actually

28

experience the rooms that she was

helping to create the AI helpers that

29

keep her honest in her personal life

30

how to build a voice profile so

your AI can actually sound like you

31

And why she believes you can't shape

where AI goes from the sidelines Let's

32

welcome Rebecca to the dinner party

33

Kelsy: what is one assumption

people make about what you do,

34

and what is the question you

wish they'd ask you instead?

35

. Rebecca: I think the assumption is…

36

There's,

37

major ones 'cause of the two hats I wear.

38

One, as an organizer, they

think I just throw parties.

39

Hate

40

it.

41

and then as a founder, because I'm

non-technical, I just vibe code.

42

Also hate that.

43

And so I think the better,

44

inquiry, if that is where their

mind is going, is, like, why?

45

" Why are you an organizer?"

46

Because then it lets me tell

the story of I really appreciate

47

community, and I wanna foster that.

48

I am…

49

Why are you building software

when you're non-technical?

50

been in environments and around

developers who have given me the tools

51

and the resources to teach myself.

52

So it's not…

53

I think people kind of

54

Like, Leave

55

it at surface level, and

unfortunately, that does not allow

56

us to really expose each other

57

for who we really are, 'cause you

just take what you think you can see.

58

Kelsy: So right back at you, why do

you enjoy being an organizer, and why

59

do you feel like being a non-technical

founder is a strength of yours?

60

Rebecca: From being an organizer,

61

because I, I value community.

62

So I'm, I was always the one who

loved getting the family together and

63

putting on all these events, and it

wasn't the, for the theme or it wasn't

64

for how it looked on social media.

65

was mostly so that the memories created in

the space had a place to be done, right?

66

with organizing conferences

and community events,

67

I find I have been

directly impacted by access

68

because

69

of my community.

70

career, the things I'm able to

do, , all of that has been because

71

the community that I'm a part of.

72

in order for you to get access

to the community, you gotta

73

have some place to meet.

74

an organizer, that's my job.

75

My sole job is to create spaces where

the right people can find each other.

76

that, that's it.

77

At baseline, that's all I'm doing.

78

then as a founder-

79

the non-technical, like what

gives me the right, I think

80

people

81

, probably say,

82

is I'm really curious, and

I have domain expertise.

83

I'm building in a space that I

know very well, 10 years deep,

84

and I think anybody,

85

when you're looking at value of

86

and in the CEO, the CTO, whoever you're…

87

Like, whoever you're actually buying

when you're investing in a business,

88

their domain expertise is what

keeps that business going.

89

It's not that they have a s- a degree.

90

It's not that they're able to write code.

91

It's

92

have domain expertise,

and they can dig in,

93

I have that.

94

I just so happen to also have tools

and resources available to me to

95

make that a reality versus giving

the idea to somebody else to make.

96

Kelsy: we met at a Women in AI event-

We did … and you were such a wonderful

97

panelist, which is exactly why I

wanted to have you on Five Seeds.

98

Thank you.

99

But you mentioned a little bit

about domain expertise here- … and

100

you mentioned it during the panel.

101

You also mentioned the phrase

vibe coding, and I know you're

102

not a fan of that phrase.

103

Rebecca: I hate it.

104

Kelsy: And you have coined the

phrase directed intelligence.

105

Yes.

106

Why is that transition

so important to you?

107

Rebecca: Yeah, I think it should

be important to anybody who has

108

the ability to build, especially

if you have domain expertise.

109

and

110

very important because of where

we are with access and technology.

111

It used to be that only people who could

write exact lines of code get things done.

112

That is no longer the case.

113

do have people who vibe code,

114

literally give a prompt to the AI

115

and have no idea what it's doing in

the background, don't really care

116

what it's doing as long as what they

see out in front of them is what

117

they thought it was going to be.

118

then you have directed

intelligence, which I am using

119

tools at my resource to home in on

120

what I am trying to accomplish, right?

121

And so it's not just

giving prompts to an AI.

122

I

123

understand how my database works.

124

I understand what the

lines of code will do.

125

I understand what my prompts will affect.

126

also do things like

have it do a read back,

127

right?

128

I have a

129

very, straight

130

forward skill.

131

It's called the what did we just do?

132

And I run it after every,

133

session, a coding session.

134

I'm like, "All right, what--

how many lines of code changed?

135

What are we changing?

136

What's the impact?

137

What security functions happened?"

138

All of that,

139

because I think it's important

to understand your product.

140

Also, when I first started,

141

it never got to commit anything by itself.

142

It lit- I literally had to read

everything that was happening

143

so I could start to learn,

144

that's the difference between vibe coding

and trusting the system to do whatever,

145

and directed intelligence, which

I've also said is trust but verify.

146

If some- an investor came to

me or a partner came to me

147

asked me how the system is connected

or what it has the capability of doing,

148

I'm trying to get SOC 2 compliant

right now, that's all paperwork

149

that I have to fill out.

150

My AI can't do that, and I'm

only able to do that because

151

I understand what's happening.

152

Kelsy: It's an example of how

153

AI can be used in such a positive way.

154

many people are fearful

of the future with AI,

155

and

156

fearful of what it could become, And

you're really using this technology,

157

this advancing technology, to foster

in-person community and connection.

158

Exactly.

159

Which is

160

This, this cool- This

161

Rebecca: dichotomy.

162

Kelsy: Yes.

163

Yeah.

164

Merging of the two.

165

So I think it's super important

for people to hear other people,

166

first of all, non-technical

people, because we all think,

167

oh, AI,

168

I think my husband works in AI,

or my boyfriend or my friend.

169

I

170

think that's it.

171

But to hear someone who has been in it

for, I know you've said you've used it

172

for, years- Years … and years.

173

that learning curve has paid off

for you in the way that you're able

174

to use it now in your business.

175

Rebecca: Yeah.

176

think people get scared because

177

the unknown, but there's a-

178

I'm sure it's like a proverb somewhere.

179

but

180

every item is either a weapon or a tool,

181

and

182

AI is the same, right?

183

You can either weaponize

it or it can become a tool.

184

A hammer builds a house.

185

It's also a murder weapon on a

lot- … of the TV shows we see, right?

186

And so it's like

187

… , the fearful should not come from,

"I think it's gonna take over and

188

do all these terrible things."

189

People are the only thing to be

feared, to be completely honest.

190

and what we do with our access, and so

as long as you personally are taking

191

responsibility for what you do with that

access, there really is no fear, right?

192

The world's gonna be what

the world's gonna be.

193

But as long as you're placing

yourself in the stream

194

of, trying to, one, learn it so

you don't get outpaced by it,

195

but also how do you use it

196

to, help?

197

use it to improve?

198

How do you use it

199

those spaces and areas

where people neglect?

200

can take you so far now,

201

I think it's really

important for people to,

202

onto that.

203

Kelsy: would you say your seat as

both an organizer and a founder- Okay

204

was given, earned, or built?

205

Rebecca: ironic 'cause

I think it's all three,

206

probably lean more into

207

built, except I have to earn it every day.

208

to re-earn that seat every

single day, whether it's Gather

209

Or being an organizer or just

working at my job at Gauntlet.

210

every day, I have to prove

211

That

212

seat is mine, right?

213

And not from a, everybody has

expectations of me, but like I said,

214

curiosity is a big thing of mine,

but it's intentional curiosity.

215

If I'm not learning, then I'm wasting

my time, and that's what I mean by

216

it, it has to be earned every day.

217

Kelsy: Yeah, you can't just

build it and then slack off.

218

Especially with the industry

that you're in- Yeah … where

219

it's constantly evolving.

220

So as you were building

Gather specifically,

221

just your utilization of AI and

even your personal life too,

222

is one rule you follow and

one rule you refuse to?

223

Rebecca: One rule I follow and

one rule I refuse to follow.

224

Okay, I'm probably gonna

start with refuse to follow.

225

Love

226

Kelsy: it.

227

Rebecca: refuse to follow

228

that it's enough.

229

I made this shirt a long time ago

And it has the word enough on it, and

230

it's crossed out, and it says more.

231

and the reason why I think that's

really important is because

232

people get to a certain point,

and then they go, "That's it.

233

I accomplished what I wanna accomplish."

234

And I'm not saying you do not have the

right to revel in your accomplishments

235

and breathe through your achievements,

236

the moment you become complacent,

237

you fail.

238

so I'm never complacent, even if it's just

239

wanna learn more about the industry.

240

I'm not gonna change the software

at all, but I wanna learn what

241

people are expecting when they go to

242

and how the attendees are experiencing it.

243

Or

244

how can I use this product to

help physical therapists, right?

245

What parts of this product

will be very helpful?

246

I think that is something I refuse to do.

247

I refuse for it to just be enough.

248

And then a rule that I follow

249

matters more than knowledge

250

Are not curious, your knowledge ends.

251

It dies immediately because

the world is ever-evolving.

252

We are very complex

253

individuals, and as a coalition

of us, we are even more complex.

254

And your ability to be curious, and,

255

curious, not just, " What do you do?"

256

"Oh, that's so nice,"

and not actually care.

257

Care about the person, and then your

curiosity will take over, right?

258

You don't have to care about their job

or what they wear, where they bought

259

their dress, but just curiosity.

260

You'll find something that connects you,

261

that takes you a really long way.

262

Kelsy: I love curiosity as yours.

263

It's one of my values I've realized,

where it's like, okay, as soon as I

264

start getting complacent, whether it's

with my day-to-day routine or whatever,

265

as soon as I start to add that, that

little bit of curiosity back in-

266

start to just thrive.

267

I'm like, okay, I'm always wanting

to learn a little bit more here,

268

learn a little bit more here,

learn a little bit more here.

269

That's why I want five seats, 'cause

I wanna have these conversations with

270

who have way more knowledge on the

subject, but who are also curious-

271

Yeah … and willing to grow with

whatever industry it is that they're,

272

an expert in.

273

So I love that

274

said curiosity is greater than

knowledge, 'cause I agree.

275

I've met so many people too where

276

got

277

so much knowledge, but they don't

have the curiosity to expand that.

278

Rebecca: They can't, and

they can't really use it.

279

If you're not curious, you cannot

deploy the knowledge you have.

280

Kelsy: You mentioned at the Women

in AI event too the way that you

281

use AI in your personal life.

282

I want you to chat a

little bit about that.

283

We've talked a lot about the

business side of things, but

284

me a little bit of the fun things

you do in your personal life with AI.

285

I

286

Rebecca: think you're probably

talking about the gym story?

287

Kelsy: Exactly.

288

Okay.

289

Rebecca: all right.

290

So I am on, for those of you watching,

291

hopefully the next time y'all see

me it'll have taken some effect.

292

I am on a, a health

293

or a

294

new,

295

walk in life.

296

I'm not even gonna call it a journey.

297

I love it.

298

I love it.

299

I'm on a health new walk in life.

300

and obviously I'm like, I

am so new to all of this,

301

and I was like, "But

you gotta do something."

302

And so I went to the community gym.

303

I, like I say, I have

a very nice community.

304

The community gym, and I went and

took pictures of all the equipment.

305

Every single thing I could see

in there I took a picture of.

306

And then I went back to my preferred AI

307

LLM, Large Language Model for

those of you learning with us.

308

and I go, "Here's what I want," right?

309

And I gave it some medical history.

310

Now,

311

disclaimer-

312

LLMs are not doctors.

313

But having context matters, right?

314

and I gave it all the pictures,

and here's w- my goals,

315

what I wanna do.

316

I have a

317

like

318

very inexpensive Dexa body

scan scale at home, Renpho.

319

out to them 'cause I love it

320

you like a body complexity

report and all that good stuff.

321

And so I uploaded all that

information, and I said, "I need

322

you to make me a foolproof plan."

323

And I always tell my

324

AI, "Talk to me like I'm a fifth grader,"

325

because it will tend to

get very much so advanced.

326

laid out a foolproof plan.

327

I put in the foods I hated.

328

I put in macros that I was wanting to hit.

329

I put in just as much…

330

I word vomit, as you guys know.

331

as I wanted, using my voice, just talk,

332

talk, talk, And it gave me a great plan.

333

Yeah, it…

334

incredible.

335

Kelsy: How have you used the,

336

workouts to influence different

things that you're given, different

337

rewards that you get later on, too?

338

Rebecca: Okay.

339

So I connected

340

my LLM, or I connected the…

341

It made me like a artifact,

which is like a side app.

342

I connected it to my Apple Health,

'cause I wear an Apple Watch a lot,

343

I basically told it

344

that

345

there's certain things that I like,

and it gives me reports on things

346

daily, gives me access to things daily.

347

and I told it that if I

didn't work out, don't give me

348

something that I'm asking for,

349

it caused me to be a lot more consistent

350

there's some reports I like in the

morning that I can't get because

351

it refuses to give them to me

until my, my heart rate spikes in a

352

certain manner, or I log a workout

353

Apple Health-

354

of that is tracked.

355

So yeah, I've cornered myself-

Yes … is what's happened.

356

Kelsy: Hey, sometimes it's like, okay,

357

current Rebecca might not wanna

do this, but future Rebecca will

358

thank you later for doing it.

359

Rebecca: She

360

me out every day, but then she's excited

about seeing progress on the scale.

361

Kelsy: Yes.

362

Yes.

363

For sure.

364

I have done a similar thing with

a DEXA scan, and I have it in,

365

preferred LLM, and I call

it the hottest version era.

366

Ooh.

367

So it's basically a tracker that I

use- I- … and I'm just like- Love

368

that … okay, these are my goals,

but it's titled Hottest Version Era,

369

and I've been going and I love it.

370

It's a scale in my, you know- That

is amazing … my preferred LLM.

371

I love it.

372

So it's been helpful, and especially

with the DEXA, 'cause it is like data.

373

Yep.

374

and I'm

375

do another DEXA scan

here in October, November

376

it- To be able to see

377

… see.

378

Yeah.

379

So-

380

Rebecca: Progress

381

Kelsy: is everything

382

I think it's

383

way to use it, too.

384

Rebecca: exciting.

385

Rebecca Cam: So you mentioned when you

are talking through these things with your

386

AI that you're actually using your words.

387

So what are some of the,

388

like,

389

tools

390

that you use to guide,

in your personal life-

391

Mm-hmm … some of the uses of AI?

392

Rebecca: So I use Granola

a lot, uh, for voice.

393

I have

394

recently gotten into using Grok Bot.

395

Oh, I've been playing

around with it a little.

396

Yeah.

397

I think what's really

unique and nice about…

398

Uh, I don't wanna say unique 'cause

there are some open sources, but

399

obviously Grok has a little bit more

400

weight underneath it.

401

. They have their own computer, so it's

agents that have their own computer.

402

They don't need your access to do things.

403

, And so I think people think chat, and

chat is just a conversation, and then

404

there are agents who can run a skill.

405

They can run a set of

instructions consistently,

406

and then there's a bot who can do both

of those things and think and do and

407

take action on whatever the idea is.

408

And so I have a few bots that do a

lot of different things every day.

409

I know you had mentioned Whisper Flow as

410

the

411

talking through- Yes … and just getting-

412

So Granola- … Gran- … and Whisper

Flow do very similar- Similar.

413

Okay

414

similar things.

415

They're apps to translate your voice.

416

Now, I talk in a very specific vernacular,

AAVE, for those of you who wanna know.

417

, And so sometimes it's difficult.

418

Like

419

I say,

420

" Gonna"

421

instead of- Ah … going to.

422

Okay.

423

Uh, and so sometimes the different

voice models are better to actually

424

capture what I'm saying 'cause they can

425

gather

426

and gather- Mm-hmm.

427

not say things.

428

Mm-hmm.

429

So,

430

um, and

431

then Grok Bot for actionable items.

432

So I am really hyper-focusing on,

433

What my financial future looks like,

and so I have a few different bots that

434

work together, and that, I think that's

435

the, the most powerful part.

436

So I have a bot that's specifically

just reviewing my credit report.

437

And

438

it's the, you know, the,

439

little free one you get on,

440

like, Credit Karma or whatever.

441

But

442

as something changes, it

updates my financial planner,

443

and then my financial planner knows

444

this

445

is where our savings is.

446

"Oh, we need to pay this bill a

little bit a- ahead so that we can

447

up our score," or whatever the thing is.

448

So because they work together, though,

they can communicate without me.

449

, And so when it sees an anomaly, it

immediately goes and, like, tells on me

450

a little bit, which I think is funny.

451

"Hey, Rebecca just spent this

much money in her bank account."

452

And I'm like, "Don't tell everybody."

453

Um, but then,

454

you know, then I get in trouble, right?

455

Mm-hmm.

456

I

457

have

458

a bot called Martha,

459

and all Martha's job is to do

is to tell me, like, what I

460

need to be doing for the day.

461

And Martha's like, "Stop spending money."

462

That was, like, her

463

And it was a d- I don't know

what I was doing that day.

464

I was having great time-

465

A fun,

466

a fun time … and, like,

targeting Marshalls-

467

and everything.

468

Yes, yes.

469

Uh, and she's like, "S- today's

goal, don't spend any money."

470

And I was like, "Okay, fair."

471

Fine, Martha.

472

Fine, Martha.

473

Ooh,

474

Kelsy: that's awesome.

475

Okay.

476

I feel like also you talked about, I

think a lot of women who are starting to

477

understand AI and use it in their

own life get frustrated with the

478

roundabout nature sometimes of,

479

Whatever model they're using- Yeah

480

where it can go,

481

you know,

482

if you're like, "Hey, draft me an

email to reply to this person,"

483

and it sounds very AI-driven.

484

You've talked a lot about a voice

profile, which I feel like is a very

485

tactical way people can

start to use AI in a really

486

Foundational way that

they can stop yelling

487

at

488

their,

489

at their computer.

490

Did you say that?

491

Rebecca: Yes, yes.

492

Kelsy: Yeah.

493

So talk a little bit about that too, just,

like, how to create a voice profile to

494

make sure that it's

495

mimicking you a little bit-

Mm … before it drafts something or,

496

that

497

way you're basically

not getting so angry at

498

your, your robots.

499

Rebecca: For sure.

500

Let me start by saying,

501

if

502

anybody tells you

503

to what day is it?

504

This is September the- 9th

505

9th,

506

2026, okay?

507

'Cause we don't know where

technology's gonna go.

508

Yes.

509

But right now,

510

there is not a single

LLM that can hear tone.

511

So if they're telling you to

talk to your AI so it can get to

512

know your tone, they're wrong.

513

All it does is translate your words

into text because it understands text.

514

Now, that is different

515

than an actual voice profile.

516

What does, what does my

personal brand sound like?

517

, And I think the most tactical way

for people to do this, I did it in,

518

like, versions throughout

a, a course of time,

519

is you can ask your LLM to

interview you for your voice.

520

, And it will generate questions and ask,

and you just answer your questions, right?

521

, I will encourage people to answer

the questions via voice note.

522

That way you're not,

523

um, one of the things I find is people

524

edit themselves

525

when they're texting, and so when you're

talking back to an LLM and , you're

526

typing or texting, you don't say

the sentence exactly how you would.

527

You, you shorten it, you make

it more concise, you use words

528

you typically would not use,

529

and your LLM will pick up on that,

and that's why you read the emails

530

and it sounds very corporate

531

when

532

all you wanna say is, "Girl, I got you."

533

Yes.

534

Right?

535

Um, and so when you're responding to

those questions it's asking, definitely

536

just grab a voice note, turn it on,

and just read the question, answer

537

the question in your normal voice.

538

The second thing about a voice profile

is you have to refine it, and so I would

539

give it, , sources of your writing already

540

that you did without LLM, without

any kind of chat, and give it to it

541

so that it can really understand

how you break sentences up.

542

I

543

use ellipses a lot

544

in places they don't really belong-

… because that is just who I am.

545

I do, too.

546

Yes, I do, too, actually.

547

And, and- And also because the,

548

you know,

549

the, the dashes are, like, so

frowned upon now- Yes … because

550

that's a typical- And, and

551

dashes were a part of my normal life.

552

Exactly.

553

Yeah.

554

Exactly.

555

I knew what they were

before LLMs even got out.

556

Yes.

557

But because my LLM knows that I use

ellipses a lot, it will add ellipses,

558

um, in places.

559

Now,

560

I say all of that and then

I will say trust but verify.

561

You should still read everything

your LLM is putting out.

562

They still hallucinate.

563

They're still

564

fallible.

565

, And

566

so, , when you are creating voice profiles

567

or, or brand profiles for yourself,

and this is personal brands, or

568

you can do this with a business,

make sure you review the output.

569

Ask it to generate a summary

of that, give you writing

570

samples, give you tone samples.

571

What

572

do I sound like when I'm angry?

573

What do I sound like when I'm confused?

574

What do I sound like

when I am questioning,

575

uh, my thought process, which I do a

lot with LLMs, and it knows that I say,

576

you know what I mean?"

577

A lot.

578

And it knows that I say,

579

"You know what I mean?"

580

a lot.

581

Because I'm just like, "You should

figure that part out," right?

582

Um, and so it'll say, "Yes, I do know

what you mean, but f- for clarification,"

583

'cause it also knows I don't trust,

584

I verify.

585

And so it'll say, "For clarification,

here's what I thought you meant.

586

Is that correct?"

587

Oh, yeah, that's exactly what I meant.

588

Okay.

589

It goes back to what you were saying

for in your business, you're always

590

like, "Okay, what did we just do?

591

What did I just…"

592

Like,

593

for any sort of code or whatever-

594

That you're

595

instructing it in, you're like,

"Okay, what did we just do?

596

What did we just create?"

597

So you're always…

598

You're not just letting it run.

599

Yes.

600

You're always understanding that, okay,

601

verify

602

after you input whatever it is that you're

inputting, in personal life or business.

603

Yeah,

604

exactly.

605

Kelsy: So what are you building

right now, from a broad

606

perspective even?

607

So sort of

608

goals

609

with

610

where you see yourself in

this advancing technology,

611

I guess.

612

As a founder of a company, as someone

who's passionate about sharing this

613

education, as someone who's passionate

about getting more women and more

614

minorities involved- Yeah … in this,

615

What are you

616

building

617

right now, and who are you

setting that place for?

618

Yeah.

619

So I'm actually building something

called The Black List Experience,

620

, And it is for, primarily for,

'cause I'm not a big proponent

621

on closing doors or gatekeeping,

622

but

623

it is primarily built

for, the intention is for,

624

, Black professionals to have a

space where they can learn and

625

grow and meet and all the things.

626

And I know we have a ton of those, but,

, what sets The Black List Experience

627

apart is these are intentional meetups.

628

So it's not just

629

a party or a hangout and come

and gather and meet people.

630

Everything you do will be intentional,

building towards something.

631

And so I'm inviting other builders,

other people who are advancing

632

their career or whatever their

goals are, and meeting in a space.

633

Our first Black List Experience

event will be, uh, don't have a

634

date yet, we're working on that, but

the intention is to find people who

635

are in the same space as you are.

636

And so it'll be for builders,

typically founders, and where

637

they are in their scope.

638

If you're still just, "I want to

be a founder, I have no ideas yet,"

639

you'll have a, a certain place to be.

640

And then we're getting,

641

Mentors over each of those sections.

642

So I would be in the go-to-market

section, uh, in that room.

643

And by the end of that meeting, you

should walk out with something and be

644

able to tell somebody else about it.

645

Um, because I want to make sure that

every time you leave a space with The

646

Black List, or just meeting me in general,

you walk away with something tangible.

647

, That's always been like a

underlying thing in my, my mind.

648

If you can't walk away

with something tangible,

649

not just this pie in the sky,

650

"Hey, it's gonna be great."

651

Yeah, what are you doing

with it today, right?

652

If you can't do something with it

today, then I've not done my job.

653

It goes back to you wanting

to create experiences and-

654

Yeah … build connection, and

655

, I sense

656

it's, it's a deeper part of,

657

like, your core values.

658

Oh, sure.

659

It's like being, you're paving the way

for so many others and so many women.

660

That's why you were at the

Women in AI event, too.

661

Absolutely.

662

But

663

you're the one paving the way,

and now you're actually opening

664

up seats to other people- Yeah

665

for, for bringing them

along the journey, too.

666

So before we end- Okay … I

wanna read you a quote.

667

Okay.

668

And it might sound a bit familiar.

669

" I want to be one of the architects

and writers of what AI becomes

670

and how it shapes our world.

671

I don't earn that right

from the sidelines.

672

If I'm not in it, curious

about what it can actually do,

673

I lose my say in where it goes."

674

Talk to me a little bit about

what you meant when you said that.

675

Rebecca: Yeah.

676

So, uh, in that conversation, just to

give a bit of context, we were talking

677

about being nervous about where AI is

going, and the impact it will have.

678

, And not to dismiss anybody's,

679

, Perception

680

at all,

681

but I do know that there is

a place for us to either be

682

content

683

with what's happening or to

shape what's happening, right?

684

And

685

I,

686

I said this, and I probably should

repeat myself but clarify, 'cause

687

I think not everybody caught it,

and I said it's very much so the

688

Black experience that I'm living.

689

Um, and for the audience who does not

really know what that means, in a lot

690

of spaces, um, I'm 38 years old, so I

went through a bit of a period where

691

there was,

692

um- a highlight on

693

racism and prejudice-ness and, like,

trying to figure that out in our world.

694

, But

695

my Blackness doesn't go away.

696

I am gonna be Black no

matter how the world sees me.

697

If everybody loves us or everybody

hates us, I am still gonna be Black,

698

and I think it's the same thing with AI.

699

It is coming regardless of how you wanna

be seen, how the world perceives it.

700

Whether we like it or not, it is coming.

701

And

702

so in order to be able to…

703

If you think,

704

if you,

705

if you for real think that AI's gonna be

detrimental, you still have to understand

706

it so that you can help the impact it has.

707

If you think it's gonna be the greatest

thing since sliced bread and the steam

708

engine, you still gotta understand

it to help get it to that point.

709

And so

710

for those

711

people who decide they're gonna

shut it down, you have no say

712

so.

713

Like,

714

I don't- Your opinion, this is gonna

sound so controversial, your opinion

715

is not that valuable if you are

not going to be curious or educated

716

on what it actually is doing.

717

Do I think AI has some detrimental pieces?

718

Absolutely.

719

Do I think it is going to shift

a lot of things in our favor?

720

Absolutely.

721

I am doing the research on

its environmental i- impacts.

722

I am doing the research

on its cancer research,

723

because all of those things

are important, right?

724

And not to say that either direction

is gonna weigh heavily or or the other,

725

but I can't help where it

goes if I'm not understanding

726

what path it's going to take.

727

And you're not shaping it, too, right?

728

If you wanna have

729

a say in where it goes, that's

what I love what you said,

730

you can't be on the sidelines.

731

You have to be in the game-

Yeah … and play in the game.

732

And even if your opinion is

that it is the worst thing for

733

the world, share that opinion.

734

Help shape the way- Yeah

735

that it's directed,

736

you

737

know?

738

Or if you're,

739

you know,

740

this is going

741

to, change the way the home is run,

742

you know, through all of

these different technologies

743

, and mechanical things that they're

building to, to be able to shape

744

, How , the home life is

structured or the school life.

745

Like, if you have that opinion,

746

, Share it, because all of these sort of-

747

Uh, diverging opinions, I guess-

748

Mm-hmm

749

will help to shape how it- Exactly … how

it impacts our society, and it's, we need

750

all of those opinions.

751

Of-

752

And like you said earlier, it's

a tool, and it just has to be

753

in the right hands, and I'd say

754

we're the right hands,

755

you know?

756

We are

757

the right, We're the right hands …we

758

are the only- hands it should

actually be in, to be honest with you.

759

It's a tool that

760

we, we just need to be better stewards of,

761

I guess.

762

Right.

763

And,

764

and we can't be better stewards of it

if we don't know how to use a hammer,

765

you know?

766

We need to learn how to use it before-

Yeah … we can shape where it goes.

767

The same thing with children.

768

When they pick up a toy for the first

time, they have no idea how to use it.

769

You have to show them.

770

, And they have to be curious

enough to want to use it, right?

771

It, a doll is what we think it

is, and you put it in the hands of

772

someone who thinks it's a helicopter,

it's all of a sudden a helicopter.

773

Like, that's,

774

that's what it is.

775

That's exactly what we're

experiencing right now.

776

I think, too, when people hear

about AI, if they're not in the

777

realm, they're hearing all of

the scary stories about it.

778

Kelsy: Mm-hmm.

779

But bringing you on here, sharing how,

780

you know,

781

you're thinking outside the

box when it comes to AI a

782

little bit,

783

like, this is a positive

way it's shaping our world.

784

I think that's super important, too.

785

Yeah.

786

and this is where I'll leave you for

now because next up is the reason

787

the entire series is named Five

Seats, where she tells us the five

788

people she'd seat at her own table

789

You can hear who she chose,

plus the rest of our time

790

together on the Five Seats feed

791

Search Five Seats wherever

you're listening or click the

792

link in the show notes below

793

New Five Seeds episodes every Tuesday,

but I'll also see you guys again on the

794

next episode of Wellness Big Sis the pod