DEI, DeepSeek, & Cultivating a Resilient Mindset Amid Cultural Disruptors. A Conversation with Gail Nott (Epi. # 204)

Bio: Gail Beltran Nott is a Business Coach and a Certified Professional Diversity Coach who empowers purpose-driven service providers to grow their businesses with clarity and alignment. She helps entrepreneurs simplify their marketing, and uncover powerful insights to attract ideal clients without the overwhelm. Through values-driven strategies, Gail supports changemakers in building sustainable businesses that amplify their impact.

Summary: In this episode, Gail discusses her journey as a business coach and certified professional diversity coach (CPDC). She shares her personal experiences that ignited her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and describes the importance of understanding different cultures and backgrounds. The host and Gail talk about the recent disruptions in the DEI field, especially in light of political and social changes, and reflect on the broader implications for society. They also touch on the role of AI in business and its potential to level the playing field for solopreneurs. Gail emphasizes the importance of self-care, grounding in truth, and finding like-minded communities to make a positive impact on inclusion.

00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings
00:38 Gail's Background and DEI Journey
01:52 Personal Experiences and DEI Insights
07:48 Current DEI Challenges and Disruptions
11:24 The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion
22:49 Affirmative Action and Asian Community
35:11 Innovations in AI and Business
43:03 Empowerment Through Technology
49:01 Conclusion and Future Con

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Transcript

[00:00:00] shilpa: Well, Happy New Year, Gail. 

[00:00:05] Gail: Happy New Year. 

[00:00:07] shilpa: I have not had you back since end of last year, and our promise was, oh, we will continue having conversations into 2025. And I, just before I hit record, um, for those who don't know Gail, she's been on my show multiple times. She's one of my favorite guests. And, um, we may end up doing this type of topic as an ongoing episode through 2025 after March.

[00:00:38] shilpa: So, um, stay, stay tuned and Gail, just for those who haven't heard past episodes, maybe you could give us a little bit of the thousand foot view of what you do and your connection to a very hot topic these days, which is DEI. [00:01:00] 

[00:01:00] Gail: Sure, I'm a business coach with a specialty in marketing and getting your message out and how to attract the ideal clients through your, through your message.

[00:01:11] Gail: Just to let your listeners know, I do have parrots. They're small parrots, but they can be loud. So I'm doing my best to keep them quiet, but they're here. Um, so I'm a, I'm a business coach with especially marketing and messaging, and I am a certified professional diversity coach. That's what the initials are after my name, CPDC.

[00:01:35] Gail: I got that certification. I really got that training more for me. I am a new mom. Well, she's five now, but I'm a newish mom and she was born in 2019. And even before that, I was starting to question the, my environment around me. My office used to be [00:02:00] in Oakland and I don't know if you've ever heard of this story of, Oh, what's her name?

[00:02:05] Gail: She had a nickname. I want to say like barbecue Betty or something like that. But basically a woman called police on. People were black for a barbecuing in the park, and that was across the street from my office. And this woman worked for an organization that's supposed to be helping the community. So it was more eye opening for me.

[00:02:32] Gail: I mean, I've always experienced different things, but it was even more eye opening for me that even with the best intentions, our, our unconscious bias can come out and we may not realize that. So I wanted to work on myself. I wanted to unpack what I had learned. About myself, about my [00:03:00] coaching and. Do that not only for me, but also for my daughter.

[00:03:07] Gail: When 2020 hit and we had the lockdowns, there was a school that I had my eye on, but it was all the way in Washington, DC. And you could go there in person. One of the benefits, as we all know, from lockdowns is more things were available online. So they offered their training program online and I became certified as a professional diversity coach.

[00:03:28] Gail: Now I don't use that in anything in particular. I'm not necessarily. just working with people from diverse backgrounds, but what this training allows me to do, not only did it help me, um, um, help me with Understanding two cultures, American culture, and then my Filipino background from my parents and, and ancestors, uh, also to [00:04:00] support my clients who come from diverse backgrounds as well, because our, our diverse, our culture, our learning, our family, our schooling, all of that comes into play with our worldview.

[00:04:15] Gail: And sometimes we think that, well, it's supposed to be this way because this is what I know. And with this diversity idea is that you open up your worldview to more possibilities of like, Oh, well, maybe because of how they were taught or how they are even just born life is different for them and they experience life in a different way.

[00:04:42] Gail: That's my background in terms of diversity coaching is bringing that into my coaching for my clients. 

[00:04:50] That, um, background really does help me understand as well, and I think that story that you mentioned, the anecdotal [00:05:00] story of, uh, working across, um, what was the location? There was something 

[00:05:06] Gail: in 

[00:05:06] Oakland.

[00:05:07] Gail: Yeah, it was at a lake, a park at the lake. And it's funny, it's technically, barbecuing there at that particular part of the park. However, there is a, um, A history of unfortunately police violence when they are called, um, against people of color, particularly black people, and maybe calling the police. I'm just going to just say, I think calling the police was too far of a step.

[00:05:40] Gail: Was that really necessary to call the police. For someone who may be violating a, a city rule regarding barbecuing, was that really an issue that that you have to call the police for that was part of the problem. 

[00:05:59] shilpa: [00:06:00] Okay, yeah, so that something got out of hand when it was just maybe could be an innocuous.

[00:06:10] shilpa: situation where somebody was barbecuing, maybe they should not have, but this led to a callous in you that you, you became curious about DEI, right? And its role in your life. Yeah. 

[00:06:26] Gail: And I also had office mates. There were, there was another business, another business in the same building where that was their specialty.

[00:06:37] Gail: Excuse me. They are DEI consultants for businesses. So they've worked with, I think they worked with MailChimp and other tech businesses in the Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area, helping them, um, create their DEI policies for their business. And Cities as well. I think, I believe they work with local governments [00:07:00] as well.

[00:07:01] shilpa: So the intention behind DEI, and again, it stands for diversity, equity, and 

[00:07:09] Gail: And inclusion, that's the common term is equity inclusion. Sometimes people also add in a B for belonging, which may feel more inclusive. So you're including people, but then do people feel like they really belong. So belonging might be part of that as well.

[00:07:28] Gail: Sometimes people also bring in maybe justice might be part of that. And it just depends on the, on the context of, of the context and the goals of what you want to bring in, into your community or organization or business. 

[00:07:48] shilpa: And while you were, um, while you became aware of DEI, first through your own experience of life and then curiosity, [00:08:00] um, I think it's become something that's very important to you.

[00:08:05] shilpa: You and I have been talking about this. As a topic since last year, and what's interesting is that while not everyone may know, have known of DEI, it's now almost become a household term in the political conversations in the last several weeks, if not a little bit longer, there were signs that things were going to become disrupted in that world.

[00:08:34] shilpa: And I'd like for you to maybe share your mindset on, uh, this disruption, and maybe for those who do not know, they're like, I have not heard about this, what disruption, what is a DEI, maybe can educate us. 

[00:08:54] Gail: I'm going to show off my little dinosaur here. This is one of the squeakers, if you hear them in the [00:09:00] background.

[00:09:00] shilpa: For those of you watching, you can see her holding one of the little squeaker birds. So yeah, I don't know if you can hear it. Um, so I apologize. I got a little distracted with the bird. What was the question? It was, um, basically, the fact that DEI is now, um, being eliminated. And it's a topic you and I have been talking about since the end of last year.

[00:09:27] shilpa: I know you're passionate about it, and I was surprised when I saw That, um, just, I think the day after the election, Facebook announced that they would remove DEI as a part of their organization, and in very short order after the inauguration, one of many things that have been eliminated, including [00:10:00] humanity, is,

[00:10:04] shilpa: is, yeah, 

[00:10:06] Gail: yeah, it is, it is a trigging word for, uh, Maybe many white people, and I, when I think about that, I think there, I think it comes from the sense of fear. That, and that's what's being perpetrated in the, in the, in the right, uh, right wing media is that they are taking our jobs, you know, and, and we do live in a world where there are haves and have nots, I mean, obviously there are people who are struggling right now just making ends meet, and it's just kind of interesting to see it.

[00:10:53] Gail: This happening of having this authoritative people saying, Well, it's them. It's [00:11:00] them. It's you know, they're doing it. They're doing it. And then you some people get caught up in in the emotion of that of having that scapegoat. But when you step back and look at what's really going on here, I think you get a better, a better layout of what's everything in play.

[00:11:24] Gail: So if I want to just focus on there's so much here. If I just want to focus on when it comes to diversity. First, I think is diversity is not just physical, it's, it's neurodiversity, it's mental illness, it's, um, people are disabled. It's, it's gender. Gender is a big topic right now. And I don't think women realize, white women in particular, realize that the reason why we do have some [00:12:00] women in C level roles in, in our government, uh, even being able to have private rooms to breastfeed, that's because of D.

[00:12:11] Gail: Rush. And people have to fight for that. I mean, women couldn't get a credit card without permission from their husband or their father until, I believe, in the 80s. So we've got to, like, remember that. It wasn't that long ago. That women, all women, didn't have rights. Uh, it seems like we just kind of forget.

[00:12:40] Gail: We have this short term memory of, of when people were getting their rights. Right to live, right to love, right to marry. That I wouldn't be able, you wouldn't have been able to marry your husband 60 years ago. Right? Uh, Trevor Noah has [00:13:00] a book called Born Prime. Because. It was illegal in, in their country in South Africa for, for different races to, um, marry and have children.

[00:13:14] Gail: So he had to pretend that his mom was actually his nanny when they were out in public. I mean, just how heartbreaking is that? And, you know, uh, Trevor Noah is what, in his 30s maybe? So 20 years ago. in that country. It was illegal for him to even just be alive. So I think we've just got to remember that no matter what our differences are and our beliefs and what's right and what's wrong, it's, it, once we start eliminating rights for some people, you're starting to eliminate rights for everybody.

[00:13:54] Gail: And I think people think that, oh, it's them, not me. And then slowly it becomes [00:14:00] There's that old poem. I think it was written after the Holocaust. About first they were, they were after them, and then they were after them, and then they were, and then they were after me. And so it was scary. It's scary. There, there is this feeling of fear.

[00:14:19] Gail: And I think this is why it's so important for us to be grounded in truth, in, in our, in our beliefs. I believe in the good of people. I do believe that most people are just afraid. And if we can help them in our own way of helping them see their light and the light in others, that this world will be a better place.

[00:14:49] Gail: So as much as there's, there's this fear, there may be anger, there may be feelings of overwhelm, is the more we [00:15:00] can step back. Root ourselves and, and practice our own mindfulness and spirituality beliefs, the easier it is for us to not only take care of ourselves, but take care of our community.

[00:15:16] I like the fact that you mentioned, um, to see their light and see your own light from a very spiritual perspective. I view all individuals as souls. And it's agnostic to color, race, ethnicity, um, and it's a good reminder that you just provided moments ago that at different points, each of us have had our light dimmed, and at different points, we've been able to then shine our light and we forget.

[00:15:57] So women like myself may not have had the [00:16:00] same opportunity. Both of us are married to white men and knowing that our life would have been very different. Not so long ago, and even as an Indian woman, um, having a choice to who I marry and what I do. These are things that, um, many of us need to maybe pause if we think that DEI, um, is for others.

[00:16:27] Really, um, a way to allow each of us to shine our light. 

[00:16:34] Gail: Yeah, I would even encourage people to stop using the acronym as much as possible and start actually saying the words. If you don't fully understand each word, that's fine. It's just what word. Is more meaningful for you? Is it diversity? It's is inclusion for me.

[00:16:55] Gail: It's inclusion. I or belong. Maybe I'm kind of [00:17:00] waiting each one. I'm not sure which word would mean more for me, but inclusion, like having everyone feel included or having everyone feel they belong the wrong on this earth. You know, belong in their communities and loved, even if I may not fully agree with everything that they do.

[00:17:20] Gail: I mean, I have. I don't think my neighbors watch this podcast.

[00:17:27] Gail: I have neighbors. I have great neighbors. I have great neighbors. I honestly don't think I want to know everything they believe, because I have a feeling we wouldn't see eye to eye on everything, so that's okay. We're great neighbors, we can live next to each other. 

[00:17:45] shilpa: Yeah, and it is those interesting times that we are back in, maybe we lived in a state of maybe illusions of unity among one another.

[00:17:59] shilpa: But [00:18:00] when something so overtly is stated that we are removing DEI on a government level, it brings to light what, um, is now important to, to people and or what's not important to them when maybe Certain people, like you were saying, we may not want to know what they feel, but yeah, they may not have that desire to give you that light.

[00:18:32] Gail: Yeah, they, there's an idea in there that sounds great. There's an idealism regarding metric, um, by, by, um, what's the word, for example, hiring people by merit. That sounds great in theory, but the reality is not everyone has the same opportunities. And because [00:19:00] I think it's actually been outlawed to use the term unconscious bias in the school system, but we are born our own biases and prejudices just because of our upbringing and what we're taught and what we learned from culture and media and things like that.

[00:19:20] Gail: So we learn different things or even just our own experiences. For example, I get really nervous around men who yell. Like men who are angry and yelling kind of freak me out because I do have a past experience of abuse. So that's my own bias is if a man starts like being angry and yelling in public, I, I get scared, like physically feel fear.

[00:19:49] Gail: And they may just be expressing themselves

[00:19:57] Gail: in that way. The anger may not be [00:20:00] towards anyone in particular. But that's my own bias. So I actually have to just kind of like talk to myself that this is not about me. He's not mad at me. And even if he was yelling at me, I'm, I'm, I'm still going to be safe, or I'm going to find a way to be safe. Um, but we don't have those biases.

[00:20:25] Gail: And to say that you're going to outlaw it, even though that's biology. Oh, and there's so many things about biology that are trying to outlaw, um, but to say that's just part of who we are as humans, because it's a protection, protection mechanism, um, it's quite, it's quite silly, but we do have those biases.

[00:20:45] Gail: And so the more that we can recognize it and claim it and say, okay, okay. Um, this I feel awkward around around this because I haven't been exposed to that [00:21:00] before. It's just acknowledging it and then doing your best to not put judgment around it and let it go by what I was talking about people hiring people by merit.

[00:21:12] Gail: Um, it's good in theory, but sometimes our own biases get in the way of that. For example, it's been shown that people with ethnic names. Transcribed Are less likely to be hired like if the resume was exactly the same exact same resume and they were just basing it on resume. If someone has a what would be considered an ethnic name, maybe a foreign name, they are less likely to be hired than someone with what's considered an American or an English name.

[00:21:44] Gail: Again, it's it's biases 

[00:21:48] shilpa: for all those, um, individuals that were American before us, the generation before us, women, um, that fought for equal [00:22:00] rights. Um, they too experienced these things on different levels and imagine being part of those women's rights and being colored that additional layer of challenges.

[00:22:14] shilpa: But yeah, if you are unable to truly wrap your head or Empathize or logically not agree with DEI. If some part of you can find the fact that at some point there might have been, um, biases held against you, then wouldn't you want to have an opportunity for yourself as well as those who care about to have, um, a voice, right?

[00:22:46] shilpa: Right, 

[00:22:47] Gail: right. I'll give an example of that. There's a hot topic with affirmative action and. In the Asian community, and maybe you've [00:23:00] seen this as well, and we see this in the California school system, particularly with University of California, there was this thought that. Well, because of affirmative action, affirmative action is not good for Asians, because there's, there's so many Asians and they all get in into college, but Asians is, is such a big term is it's a new term, it was created in the 60s, so that we could group together to, to fight for our rights alongside with people with black people and African Americans.

[00:23:38] Gail: But there's so many different Asians. Well, thank you though. In the end, uh, uh, all, all the different countries and there's different reasons why groups of people immigrate to the States. Some as professionals. [00:24:00] Who have degrees and experience and many others came in as refugees because of wars going on in their countries, and they have different they're starting from different places.

[00:24:14] Gail: My parents were able to immigrate to the States through my, my mom was able to, to immigrate through being a nurse. That's why there's so many nurses in the Philippines is there's a, there's been programs for decades to bring Filipino nurses in the US, and what they would do is they would pay them less.

[00:24:39] Gail: They have to at least pay them in wage now, but that wasn't always the case. So they pay them less. Um, for the hospitals to save money. It gave people in the Philippines a chance to immigrate to the States because it's been sold as a place for opportunity. And when my father was able to immigrate here by [00:25:00] joining the U.

[00:25:01] Gail: S. Navy, becoming a citizen that way. Well, they were one of the lucky ones. I have other friends who were refugees because of the Marcos regime and their family was being persecuted. So they had to escape and they were able to, to immigrate here. But so many different reasons. So affirmative action. It's one of the hot topics you look at it when it comes to diversity, and it affects different groups, you can't just lump people all in.

[00:25:34] Gail: As Asians, for example, and I'm sure there's. More diversity in African American community as well, depending on where they're coming from and their background. And it's gonna be interesting to see how this interesting not the right word. It's gonna be, I think it's gonna be kind of painful to see what's going to happen in the next four years.

[00:25:59] Gail: [00:26:00] There's also. They've already seen a decrease in enrollment for black people in Harvard, and it's not because there aren't qualified students to go into Harvard. I wonder if they're just being passed over for people who have bigger pocketbooks. 

[00:26:21] Yes, and like you were just describing, you know, this will probably, it already has caused a disruption in how people are being enrolled.

[00:26:34] Um, and programs may be hired, which I believe will be a very evident thing very soon. And then there's also, um, this need that I feel like we have in society to be more educated about this topic. Like you were saying, um, women didn't have the rights to do certain things that [00:27:00] we take for granted now, but it's now the onus and responsibility is on each of us to be aware Thank you.

[00:27:08] Of the history and the ramifications and also the miscommunication or misinformation, which we are now entering a whole new era of misinformation, particularly like I heard the other day with that recent plane crash and. Statement most made by President Trump about, um, I, it 

[00:27:34] Gail: was a D I hired because the, the pilot was a person of color and I was reading an article about him and about his passions and his, his training and people were talking about how he was, how he was Now, I don't remember who was top of his class exactly, but just how well [00:28:00] trained and skilled he was, you can't just like, you know, walk your way into becoming a pilot, same with becoming air traffic patrol air traffic control person.

[00:28:12] Gail: It's there's a lot of training involved. And I, I think people again want to go to that easy excuse. Oh, it's just this. We're and they're playing to xenophobia and our own our own prejudices and bigotry, but I think we, we just got to remember like kind of like step back and analyze what's being said.

[00:28:37] Gail: Remember, just because they're a person in authority doesn't mean it's completely correct. They are trained all politicians on all sides are trained to say things in a way to, to get you motivated to bring up emotion. And if we get too caught up into that. [00:29:00] We get lost in in their in their propaganda. So again, it's the opportunity.

[00:29:07] Gail: Let's step back. Let's look at this. And I think that's also one of the challenges with coming up with things like the diversity equity inclusion policies is you come up with these catchphrases and these terms and you make things. We make it a policy and then the, the human factor gets lost in the mix and we forget this is people.

[00:29:31] Gail: We put a label on it, we called it diversity or we called it inclusion, but what it really means is we want to give people a chance, right? So for hiring people with the right qualifications, a chance, all people who, who qualify for that for our, our communities. There's not a red line. And having, being able to have a diverse [00:30:00] neighborhood.

[00:30:01] Gail: So yeah, those are just some things to kind of think about is remember the people, they are terms, but don't get lost in those terms. And in all this craziness, it's so important to rest. There's a great book called Rest is Resistance. So remember to rest, take care of yourself. And then when you can, get back up and speak up for others and do what you can.

[00:30:26] Gail: Focusing locally at first will probably be the The easiest and the most impactful. 

[00:30:34] shilpa: I, um, love the fact that you laid it out so methodically because having the mindset of how to overcome disruptions like this, particularly, um, a concept that not many people feel that tightly invested in perhaps, unless you are a woman or a woman of color or what have you.

[00:30:58] shilpa: Um, [00:31:00] that. When these things happen and they hit home, I think we want to first, um, at least for myself, I want to know logically what can I do? What is, what kind of mindset? I like the idea that you said, something as simple as rest, right? Taking self care, um, understanding that from self care, I think we can then understand how to care for others.

[00:31:29] shilpa: Because when we have We have compassion ideally for others. And then you also mentioned, um, and these may not have been your words, but really to educate yourself, right? And take a step back and reflect. 'cause our biases are there. We each have them. We may not be aware of them. A lot of this is about bringing awareness to, [00:32:00] um, areas, 

[00:32:01] Gail: right?

[00:32:02] Gail: And, and unlearning or learning what we thought we already know. Whether it's just misconceptions in the world, or even just knowing more, for example, we talked in a previous episode about neurodivergency and autism ADHD. There's more that we know about that field. And I'm learning that there's a difference in therapies.

[00:32:28] Gail: There's one where it's Change the behavior. And there's another one of let's accommodate them because this is just who they are. So what can we do so that they can learn more easily and be able to support themselves. So that's just Um, an example of stepping back and learning, be open to unlearning, be open to have your beliefs and previous knowledge questioned.

[00:32:59] Gail: I [00:33:00] think that's hard for people because we like being right.

[00:33:05] And it's also this, if we were still connecting all the dots and understanding how each of us play a role in Society's level of peace and happiness, then we feel like, wow, I have a, I have a role. It's not, um, that it's their problem. Maybe it is your problem. Maybe you are a mother with a neurodivergent child.

[00:33:29] Maybe you have some other conditions that when that child grows up may not have opportunities. And maybe they will if somebody like you cared enough for, um, making sure that the humanity of their opportunities are there. Like you were saying earlier, it's not about the label. And I really like the way you said that.

[00:33:54] Because at the end of the day, you just want to make sure that people are given the opportunities. [00:34:00] 

[00:34:00] Gail: Yeah, that they're included, that they're loved, that they're, they're meant to be on this earth, they're wanted, and it doesn't have to be exactly like with you or with your business or your, you know, in your department or anything like that, but that they, everyone has worth.

[00:34:19] Gail: And I wish we could all step back, like, just kind of step back and see that there's abundance in this world, which is kind of going to step back. And look at innovations that are out there so that everyone can have a home to live in. Everyone can have food and water. Everyone can have health care can just be innovated and figure it out.

[00:34:47] Gail: Versus, I'll just say it the ultra well ultra rich hoarding resources. 

[00:34:55] Yeah, yeah. I, and so it's our each of our [00:35:00] responsibility and bringing awareness. And having an open growth mindset, it sounds like sort of the overarching theme here. Now, you mentioned the word innovation, which is the next hot topic for today.

[00:35:17] Gail: Ah! 

[00:35:18] shilpa: So, I believe, and you and I have had many conversations about this, as business owners who are techie at heart, you and I, we're very passionate, but it is a very big challenge to be a techie. solopreneur, a female solopreneur, and I believe innovation like AI has helped level the playing field to some degree, I believe, because it's like having an intern that you can't afford.

[00:35:55] shilpa: It's like having really smart Out of [00:36:00] college kid who you can train over six months and then start automating. 

[00:36:06] Gail: So 

[00:36:07] you have time for your why, which is really important. This is why we probably became solo printers, right? Because you wanted your why or you wanted to be your own boss or call things on your own terms.

[00:36:19] Well, AI has been really, really awesome in helping us and it's only getting better. But now we have a new disruptor, as of just two weeks ago, um, a shocking Chinese AI advancement called DeepSeek is 

[00:36:33] Gail: not 

[00:36:34] only causing disruptions, but it's also apparently sending the US stocks plummeting. So, I would love to have your thoughts on all of this.

[00:36:47] Gail: Oh, yes. My husband told me about DeepSeek. He's a techie too. He told me about DeepSeek and it is open source to a point. It's not completely open. They didn't share [00:37:00] everything in their programming. But people can use it and create their own programs with it. It's what ChatGPT was supposed to be. ChatGPT was supposed to be open source.

[00:37:13] Gail: They're owned by a company called OpenAI. Then they got bought by Microsoft. So Um, what's great about DeepSeek is talk about innovation. They didn't do what the other AI companies did. They started from scratch. And because of how they programmed it, it actually uses less processing power than the chat GPTs of the world.

[00:37:40] Gail: So you could actually download it and run it on your computer, a gaming computer, your computer still has to be a powerful computer like a like a gaming computer, but you don't even have to run it on the Internet, you could run it on your own system. And that can, that's really powerful you don't need [00:38:00] room full of processors.

[00:38:02] Gail: One of the concerns about AI is its energy use. What's compared to regular Google searches is not that much higher, but overall, if people are using it all the time, you're not using a Google search, you know, every second of the day, but some people are using AI like constantly. So, um, uses less uses less energy so it's a game changer.

[00:38:28] Gail: There is concerns I mean you know this is. I don't want to get caught in the Chinese propaganda, like they're all bad or they're all evil. I'm sure there are things that we don't know about. So you still want to protect yourself. Uh, I actually did try logging into the site. I wanted to download it or use it online and try it for myself.

[00:38:49] Gail: I couldn't get in. They had a notice on their site that they were being attacked. And so they had to close off their servers to new [00:39:00] people. But they were getting, yeah, trying to, people are trying to hack into them, but my husband got it and he loves it. He's, he's already starting to train it just like you do with the other AIs like ChachiBT and he's running it on his own computer.

[00:39:17] Gail: So it's not great. Um, it's not. What's the word? Um, broadcasting his information back online, because that's another thing that people are concerned about is if I put something online or through my AI processor, it's now public domain it. So if I'm working on IP, my intellectual property, I don't want, you know, and it's not ready to be out there.

[00:39:42] Gail: I don't want it. I don't want to use a public AI, so it's going to be interesting game changer. So it'll be interesting to see if now companies like OpenAI, ChatGBT, and the others. Start creating new versions of their A. I. [00:40:00] So that it also works on uses less energy, which means it will be more cost effective for them.

[00:40:08] Gail: It will hopefully even be faster for us. So that's a good news. The bad news is that are where the checks and balances were already worried about the U. S. Government. Um, uh, being deconstructed, but there are the concerns regarding a I and how it's gonna be used that way. But for a small business owner, it's good news for us, even if you don't want to.

[00:40:37] Gail: And we can't as of yesterday. I wasn't able to log into deep seek. But as a small business owner is good news for us because it means that AI use for good purposes can be easier for us. It can be less expensive for us and can have a less harmful impact in our environment. [00:41:00] That's all great news. It's 

[00:41:01] shilpa: all really very positive, especially With the energy consumption and that element, how it impacts our environment and also it goes back to the leveling the playing field, being able to have a piece of technology that allows us to have more control and less vulnerability to our information, but like most things that are disruptors.

[00:41:32] shilpa: It'll, it'll play out over time. Now, time is something that's been moving very fast in the era of AI. So we'll see. Um, I heard a funny quote by, I believe, Jon Stewart, James Stewart, the political comedian that AI just got its job replaced by AI.

[00:41:58] Gail: Yeah, yeah, [00:42:00] that's a concern as well, is that if you have a job or business that can be easily Done by AI is definitely time to innovate what you're doing and know that your people skills cannot be replaced. So your strategy, your communication, the nuances when it comes to your work that can't be replaced, and that's something to, to develop more.

[00:42:32] Gail: So if you are, for example, I, I like focusing on marketing strategy. I used to have a social media agency, but when then I, when I saw that virtual assistants can do similar work and for a lot cheaper, I didn't want to go that route. And I didn't want to become a big marketing agency either. So I decided to do coaching and marketing training in that way, marketing consulting marketing strategy versus trying to compete dollar for [00:43:00] dollar with virtual assistants.

[00:43:03] shilpa: And also the way I see that a little bit of a, um, tangent, but when I refine my services as a solopreneur, I believe that the way I want to, uh, show up for my clients and others is to empower them. So rather than do it for you, wouldn't be ideal if each of us is empowered to know how to do it for ourselves.

[00:43:30] shilpa: Right. Yeah. I'm 

[00:43:32] Gail: a big believer in do it with you. So yeah, and that's what I like doing for my clients as well. Is I'm, I'm launching, I don't think I told you this yet, Shilpa. I'm launching a, a marketing writing program. So for business owners who want to share their insights, they want to share their, their wisdom, their knowledge.

[00:43:53] Gail: Whether that's through video and podcasting or social media or writing, I'm, [00:44:00] I'm creating a, a 30 day free writing challenge. So every day they get a prompt that they can use in their marketing. And then I'm also creating a, a coworking hour, a coworking writing hour. So we can write together and, and do that on a daily basis to create that consistency and habit.

[00:44:22] I love that co working concept. I recently took part in a, um, challenge for, um, creating or building out your email list by, um, Liz Wilcox. Have you heard of her? 

[00:44:39] Gail: I've known her a long time. 

[00:44:41] Yeah. I 

[00:44:41] Gail: used to, I used to live and travel in an RV, and she used to have an RV blog. So that's when I first came across her was when she had her RV blog.

[00:44:50] She talked about that in this course I took, um, of hers. I've known her because I became aware of her because I'm a member of [00:45:00] Podmatch, which is a service that you use to find guests. And she apparently is friends with the owner of Podmatch. And at the same time, it just so happens a friend of mine was on.

[00:45:17] Survivor. Yes. And she 

[00:45:19] Gail: was on Survivor. I was 

[00:45:21] on Survivor. So, it was like this end degree of separation. I'm suddenly like, oh, wait, I love this woman. And then it turns out a lot of my friends know her through these connections. 

[00:45:31] Gail: Yeah. She's done a great job of since selling her RV blog, of establishing herself.

[00:45:37] Gail: I mean, she was already a writer, but then establishing her email program and, yeah. 

[00:45:43] Yeah, so going back to co working, I took part in this challenge that she was hosting and part of the challenge was you'd be in this virtual room with other people who are building out the copy for their I It [00:46:00] was fun, actually.

[00:46:01] It was exciting. And it goes back to showing how, um, technology that's now accessible to us as women is empowering us on a level that we may not have seen many years ago. And it's a good disruptor. So not all disruptors are, necessarily. Or maybe all disruptors are neither good or bad. It's a matter of our perception and 

[00:46:32] Gail: how we use it.

[00:46:34] Gail: Yeah. 

[00:46:35] Yeah. So, but that's, it was a nice way to segue to the innovation element of it as well. But, um, there's so much more that you and I can, um, unpack, so to speak for when AI technology, and then even going back to our original conversation on diversity inclusion. And how that will now play out in our [00:47:00] world.

[00:47:01] I don't want to just say gum in our world. Um, the onus of responsibility is on each of us to not only bring light to ourselves, but bring it to others and amplify other people's voices. And I, I believe that your role is even more important now because you are, um, You are equipped with this knowledge.

[00:47:26] Knowledge is power. 

[00:47:30] Gail: Yes. Yeah. Knowledge is power. Knowledge in action, I think, is even more powerful. So yeah. 

[00:47:41] What action can one take today if they want to make a positive impact on inclusion? 

[00:47:54] Gail: I would find a community. Find like minded people who believe in what you [00:48:00] believe, who Want to improve this world, improve this community.

[00:48:05] Gail: There are already organizations who are moving in a direction to support all people. So I would say find your people. See how you can help out in any way you can. It doesn't have to be much. It might just be maybe sharing their newsletter. Or learning how to have conversations with people who may think differently than you do.

[00:48:30] Gail: But that would be my, my first suggestion is do a little Google search or ask your friends. I want to help someone. Focus maybe just on one or two groups or topics that you feel passionate about. Because there's so much out there and so many people need help. So focus on one thing, find a group and be part of it.

[00:48:57] Gail: See how you can help others. [00:49:00] 

[00:49:00] That is perfect. Well, thank you, Gail. I look forward to having you back. We will have a conversation on the same thing, maybe around spiritual resiliency in the era 

[00:49:11] Gail: of 

[00:49:12] all of these cultural disruptions that we are now going to be managing. 

[00:49:19] Gail: I'm 

[00:49:20] looking 

[00:49:20] Gail: forward to that. As you know, I've been on a spiritual journey myself.

[00:49:25] Gail: And, yeah, come to a really good place. So I'd love to share that. 

[00:49:30] shilpa: Oh, I love hearing that. You and I always have these, um, amazing inspirational conversations when it comes to spirituality. And I know you've really been doing a lot of inner work around that. So, yes, that'll be our next conversation. Have a great day.