What if AI is not the most important shift happening right now? What if the real shift is how you understand yourself?

In this episode, Michelle sits down with Charity Youngblood to explore a deeper layer of entrepreneurship. This is not about tools first. It is about identity, energy, and alignment. Charity brings over 15 years of experience helping women protect their time, energy, and peace, and shows how that work translates into building a business that actually fits your life.

This conversation challenges a common assumption. AI is powerful, but without self-awareness, it amplifies the wrong things. If you are building something new, this episode will help you slow down, think clearly, and move with intention.

00:00 – Welcome to Season 6

Michelle frames the podcast around AI literacy, readiness, and action. This season focuses on people who are using AI with intention, not noise.

01:00 – Meet Charity Youngblood

Charity introduces herself and shares her core identity. She prioritizes who a person is over what they do. That lens shapes everything in her work.

02:00 – The Real Work: Protecting Time, Energy, and Peace

Charity explains her 15-year focus. Most people try to optimize output. She focuses on protecting inputs. That shift changes everything.

03:00 – From One Path to Infinite Paths

Michelle reflects on how previous generations followed a narrow definition of success. Today, there are more options, but also more confusion.

04:00 – Why Traditional Career Paths No Longer Fit

Both discuss the tension between what they were told to do and what actually worked. Corporate paths did not align with who they were.

05:00 – Building a Business from Who You Are

Charity explains how her curiosity about people became her business. She did not plan it. She followed what consistently showed up.

06:00 – The Hidden Advantage of Self-Awareness

Most people chase strategy first. Charity argues that understanding yourself is the real leverage point. Strategy without alignment creates burnout.

07:00 – AI and the Expansion of Possibility

Michelle connects this shift to AI. AI lowers barriers, but it also increases the need for clarity. Without it, you scale confusion faster.

Key Takeaways

1. AI is a multiplier. It will amplify clarity or confusion depending on what you bring into it
2. Most people are trained to focus on output. The real leverage is protecting time, energy, and attention
3. Career paths are no longer fixed. That creates opportunity, but also requires stronger self-direction
4. Building a business from identity leads to sustainability. Building from trends leads to exhaustion

If this conversation made you think differently about how you are building, take that seriously. This is the work that lasts.

And if you want to represent that mindset in a simple, visible way, head over to the shop and grab your Empowered by AI sweatshirt:

https://empowered-by-ai.printify.me/

Wear the reminder. Build with intention.

What happens when AI moves from being a writing tool to becoming a true thinking partner?

In this episode of Empowered by AI, Michelle Muncy-Silva sits down with transformation strategist Suzel W. Jones to explore how entrepreneurs can use AI to think through ideas, prototype tools, and even build working applications faster than ever before.

Suzel brings decades of experience leading transformation and agile initiatives in telecom and tech. In this conversation, she demonstrates how AI can support real business problem-solving and product creation. The episode includes a live demonstration using the AI development platform Lovable, showing how a simple prompt can begin building a working application in real time.

This conversation is especially relevant for women entrepreneurs who want to move from curiosity about AI to actually building with it.

00:00 Introduction to Empowered by AI

Michelle introduces the show and the mission of helping women entrepreneurs use AI intentionally in their work and businesses.

01:00 Meet Suzel W. Jones

Suzel shares her background leading large transformation initiatives in telecom and tech and explains how her work has evolved alongside emerging AI tools.

05:30 Moving Beyond AI as a Writing Tool

The conversation explores how AI can function as a strategic thought partner for ideation, research, and problem solving.

09:40 Why Iteration Matters When Working With AI

Suzel discusses the importance of experimenting, refining prompts, and learning through cycles of testing and improvement.

14:30 AI as a Builder, Not Just an Assistant

The discussion shifts to how AI tools can now help users move from ideas to prototypes much faster than traditional development cycles.

18:40 Designing a Simple AI-Powered Product Concept

Suzel walks through how she begins thinking about an application idea and the type of prompt she gives ChatGPT to structure the concept.

22:00 Live Lovable Demonstration

Suzel demonstrates the platform Lovable and shows how a prompt can initiate the creation of a working app, including database setup and feature design.

23:00 Watching AI Build in Real Time

The group discusses how Lovable continues working in the background while the user focuses on other tasks, illustrating the new pace of AI-assisted development. EBAI Branding Transition

24:00 Michelle’s Experience Iterating With AI Tools

Michelle shares her own experiment using AI to build a tool that could scrape saved posts from TikTok and Instagram, highlighting the iterative collaboration between human and AI.

You can grab Suzel's book here https://bit.ly/4bxanGr

If you enjoyed this conversation and want to show your support for the Empowered by AI community, check out the Empowered by AI merch shop. Every purchase helps support the podcast and the work of amplifying women using AI to build what’s next.

Visit the shop here

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And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and watch full episodes on YouTube so you never miss a conversation with women leading the future of AI.

What happens when AI innovation moves fast… but representation lags behind?

In this powerful conversation, Ricquel Harper joins me to unpack the tension so many of us feel but don’t always have language for. From ethical AI and global policy gaps to archetypes, voice, and authentic co-creation, this episode is about more than tools. It’s about power, presence, and making sure women and underrepresented communities are not just users of AI—but shapers of it.

Ricquel brings her background in investment banking and compliance into the world of ethical AI, and what unfolds is a grounded, honest discussion about guardrails, bias, leadership, and how we use AI without losing ourselves in it.

If you’ve ever thought, “Something feels off,” but couldn’t quite name it—this one is for you.

Timed Key Moments

00:00 – Welcome to Season 6

Why this podcast exists and who it’s for: women building what’s next with AI, intentionally.

01:00 – Ricquel’s Journey into Ethical AI

From investment banking and compliance to becoming an ethical AI specialist and “optimist of ethical AI.” Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

03:30 – Why Underrepresented Communities Are Leaning In

Ricquel shares why historically overlooked communities are not waiting to be included—they’re inserting themselves into the AI narrative. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

05:00 – The Guardrail Problem

A candid look at the lack of global consensus on AI governance, including references to differing international priorities like the EU AI Act. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

07:30 – Representation in the Rooms Where AI Is Built

The disconnect between companies claiming inclusion and the reality of homogeneous teams building the tools. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

12:30 – Why Women Stop Speaking Up

Ricquel names two powerful forces: lack of confidence and exhaustion. And why continuing to speak—and build—still matters. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

15:00 – Archetypes in the Age of AI

Why archetypes matter more than ever when AI-generated content can flatten identity. Ricquel explains how she uses archetypes to shape authentic voice. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

18:00 – Co-Creating with AI Instead of Outsourcing Your Voice

How Ricquel assigns personas to ChatGPT and Claude, trains them intentionally, and reviews output to ensure it still sounds like her. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

21:00 – The Red Flag Test

If you read your AI-generated content and think, “That sounds good, but I’d never say that,” that’s your signal. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

24:00 – Live Archetype Exercise

Ricquel walks through a beginner-friendly archetype discovery prompt. We uncover “The Weaver” and “The Listener” in real time—and explore how that shapes messaging and leadership. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

31:00 – Using Your Archetype Strategically

How to align your brand archetype with your audience’s archetype to craft messaging that connects instead of performs. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

33:00 – Where to Connect with Ricquel

Ricquel shares how to find her on LinkedIn and continue the conversation. Empowered by AI Interview Ricqu…

Conclusion

This conversation is a reminder: AI is not neutral. And neither are we.

You have a voice. You have lived experience. And you have the ability to shape how these tools evolve—whether through speaking up, building differently, or simply refusing to let your voice be flattened into something generic.

If this episode sparked something in you, don’t let it stop here.

Head over to my Empowered by AI merch shop and grab something that reminds you you’re part of this movement:

https://empowered-by-ai.printify.me/

Wear the message. Start the conversation. Keep showing up.

And if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and check out the YouTube channel for demos and walkthroughs connected to these conversations.

We’re not spectators in this AI era.

We’re shaping it.