308. AI for Skeptics: A Grounded Conversation for Physicians
What if your hesitation around AI is not a problem, but a reflection of how much you care?
Have you noticed how thoughtful, conscientious people imagine the worst-case scenario when something new arrives? Could it be that some of the fear around AI is less about the tool itself and more about the stories we tell about it? And what if you do not need to love it to change your relationship with AI?
This is part one of a two-part conversation with my son Slade about AI. Not the technology itself — the feelings it brings up and the stories we tell about it. We explore why AI feels so charged for physicians and high-achieving women, and how we might begin to relate to it with more awareness, discernment, and self-compassion.
Slade has a background in public policy, data, and consulting, and has worked with businesses and organizations on how to integrate AI thoughtfully. He is not building AI. He is teaching people how to use it — and that distinction matters. When I asked my other sons, who are building AI and writing code, to help me understand it, their help was not translatable to my actual life. What I needed was someone who could bridge the gap between the technology and the real human sitting in front of it. That is what Slade does, and it is what made this conversation possible.
We talk about why so many of us — especially physicians — feel cautious, skeptical, overwhelmed, or even fearful when it comes to AI. We are trained to anticipate risk and forecast danger. That training is essential in the operating room and the emergency department. It is less helpful when it gets applied, unchecked, to a new tool that might actually save us time and energy if we could approach it with curiosity rather than catastrophizing.
Slade shares a framework from a philosopher's newsletter that I found clarifying: you can be an AI optimist, a pessimist, a skeptic, or a realist. Most of us land somewhere between skeptic and realist — and that is a perfectly reasonable place to begin. We also talk about the fact that most of us are already using AI without realizing it, from recommendation algorithms to autocorrect, and that the newer forms of generative and agentic AI are simply the latest evolution of something we have been interacting with for years.
One of the things that struck me most in this conversation is Slade's point that the more AI-generated content floods the world, the more valuable original, heart-centered, authentically human work becomes. AI does not have a soul. It cannot replace what makes us uniquely us. And learning to use it well is not about outsourcing what matters — it is about protecting your energy for the things that do.
PEARLS OF WISDOM
• Hesitation around AI is often not a lack of intelligence or willingness. It is a reflection of how much we care about doing things well and doing them right.
• Physicians are trained to anticipate risk. Sometimes we misapply that training to situations where curiosity would serve us better than caution.
• AI is a tool. How we interact with it depends on slowing down, asking ourselves the right questions, and deciding how we want to show up.
• The one thing AI does not have is a soul. Original, heart-centered, authentically human work will become more valuable, not less.
• Everyone needs support learning this — even people who seem like they already understand it. Slade had a mentor. I had Slade. There is no shame in asking for a guide. • The real question is not whether AI is good or bad. It is how we want to relate to it — with awareness, discernment, and self-compassion.
Reflection Questions
What feelings come up for us when we think about AI — and how might we begin to shift from catastrophizing into discernment?
Where are we resisting, as opposed to showing up with curiosity?
How do we want to relate to AI in a way that is aligned with our values and protects our energy for what matters most?
What stories are we telling about AI, and are those stories serving us well?
Closing Invitation
This episode is really about acknowledging feelings — the cautiousness, the skepticism, the overwhelm, the self-judgment for not understanding something that seems like everyone else already gets. In coaching and in mindfulness, we always start there. If we do not acknowledge the feelings, there is no way to change the relationship.
In the next episode, Slade and I dive into the practical side — real use cases, real tools, and how communicating with AI is a lot like learning a new language. If this first conversation resonated, I think the second one will feel like a relief.
And if what you are looking for right now is not AI help but human support — in navigating change, identity, burnout, or how you want to show up in medicine and in life — I would love to connect with you.
www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats
www.jessiemahoneymd.com/jessies-blog
Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.
The Healing Medicine Podcast was formerly known as the Mindful Healers Podcast.
FAQs
What is this episode about?
This is part one of a two-part series about AI. It focuses on the emotional and psychological side — why AI feels so charged for physicians and high-achieving women, and how to relate to it with more awareness and less fear.
Do I need to know anything about AI to listen?
No. This episode is designed for people who feel behind, overwhelmed, or skeptical. It meets you where you are.
Who is Slade?
Slade is Jessie's son. He has a background in public policy, data, and consulting, and helps individuals and small businesses use AI in grounded, practical ways. You can find him at AIWithSlade.com.