AI Without the Hype: People First, Governance Always

AI is not the boogeyman. It is not a magic fix either. In this episode of The Art of Cybersecurity, Cheri Hotman sits down with Erica Shoemate (former FBI and U.S. intelligence community, now working across tech policy, trust and safety, and AI literacy) to talk about what most AI conversations miss: the human stakes.

They dig into why “we passed the audit” is not the same as being secure, why integrity has to show up in daily decisions and not just on a values page, and how companies can adopt AI without sacrificing governance. Erica shares a practical example of using internal GenAI to speed up regulatory readiness and control mapping while keeping human review and accountability front and center. The takeaway is simple. Use AI to reduce friction and busywork, so people can focus on judgment, risk, and critical thinking.