Data Debrief: The AI Rollback & Regrets

Welcome to another episode of The Data Debrief, the companion show to Driven by Data: The Podcast, where hosts Catherine Dowden-King and Kyle Winterbottom unpack Tuesday's episode, share what's been on their minds, and explore the realities of leadership, culture, and capability across the data and AI landscape.

This week, Catherine and Kyle reflect on Kyle's conversation with Laura Fiacco, Founder of Adaptive Assets, exploring why communication, influence and commerciality remain some of the most overlooked skills in data leadership. Alongside the episode discussion, they dive into LinkedIn's apparent AI U-turn, the growing challenge of AI-generated content, and why the future of data leadership may be less about technology and more about transformation.

They cover:

• Why LinkedIn, Snapchat and Substack are all taking steps to tackle AI-generated content, and what it says about organisations pushing AI adoption before understanding its long-term consequences
• Whether we're heading towards a world where overusing AI becomes just as much of a performance concern as not using it at all
• The ethical grey areas surrounding AI-generated communication, from political statements to funeral tributes, and why context matters far more than blanket rules
• Laura's perspective on communication as a skill that compounds over time, and why nobody starts by presenting to a thousand people
• Why communication isn't synonymous with public speaking, but instead about translating technical concepts into language that business leaders understand and care about
• The importance of influencing without authority, building relationships, and developing the commercial mindset needed to turn technical work into business value
• How organisations continue to undervalue communication, relationship building and commerciality because they're harder to measure than technical capability
• Practical ways data professionals can develop these skills themselves, including writing, voice conversations with AI, and using large language models as personalised coaching tools
• Why curiosity, listening and asking better questions are just as important as being able to communicate confidently
• Kyle's reflections on why transformation is becoming the next major destination for senior data leaders as technology becomes less of the challenge and organisational change becomes the real differentiator
• Catherine's comparison between today's AI leadership roles and the "e-business" and "Chief Internet Officer" titles of the dot-com era, and why AI leadership may ultimately become absorbed into every business function as the technology matures

Programming note: If you've been following Catherine's recent LinkedIn series on the evolution of executive technology roles, this episode expands on that conversation, exploring why today's AI job titles may eventually follow the same path as digital and internet leadership before them.

This episode is a reminder that while AI continues to dominate headlines, long-term success still depends on the fundamentals: communicating clearly, influencing effectively, building relationships, and helping organisations change, not just implement new technology.