Why Humans Won't Be Replaced by AI

A six figure salary can arrive without any family playbook for what to do with it. Betty Woods, Global Program Lead on the Scaled Success team at Miro, talks with Ashley Russo about growing up multicultural in New Jersey, leading Miro's black excellence community, and pushing back on branding that missed the mark. She makes the case that AI is a tool for brainstorming and strategy while human conversation gives the ideas that matter, and she shares why she started working with a financial planner to plan around stock options and care for her family.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Ask Ashley

00:54 Meet Betty Woods of Miro

01:05 Family, heritage, and community

02:12 Her grandmother's strength

03:21 Growing up with an LGBTQ plus mom

04:55 Being the only one in the room

05:22 Bringing empathy to work and the black excellence community

07:21 Five years at Miro and what keeps her invested

09:08 Diverse groups and the use of AI

12:42 Why humans won't be replaced by AI

14:33 Balancing the day job and side pursuits

17:32 First-time wealth builders and stock options

20:04 Advice to her younger self

You can follow Betty Woods here:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettywoods

Learn more about Miro:

Website - https://miro.com

What is Ask Ashley?

In Ask Ashley, Founder, Thoughtleader and award-winning media personality Ashley Russo sits down with leaders who bring purpose and humanity to business.

Each episode explores how people navigate uncertainty, lead with empathy, and create meaningful change in their organizations and lives. Listeners gain practical insights on resilience, leadership, and financially confident decision-making amid disruption.

This podcast is brought to you by Ask Ashley. If you’re interested in building a confident, purpose-driven wealth plan, reach out to Ashley at [e-mail].

00;00;01;22 - 00;00;30;00
Ashley
Welcome to Ask Ashley, the podcast, where we shine a light on the unsung heroes of the workplace. I'm your host, Ashley Russo, financial AI board member, thought leader and wealth management advisor. Each week we sit down with inspiring leaders, exploring their journeys, motivations, and the real challenges they face from job and security to the evolving role of AI in a world where many feel overlooked.

00;00;30;01 - 00;00;54;03
Ashley
These guests are building hope and connection for their colleagues. Join us as we uncover their stories and discover how they're making a difference, one conversation at a time. Hello everyone. This is Ashley Rousseau here today with a fabulous, just so interesting dynamic guest that I'm going to let you introduce yourself.

00;00;54;05 - 00;01;05;03
Betty
Yeah. Thank you. My name is Betty Woods. I am a global program manager for our Scaled Success team at Miro. So happy to be here today.

00;01;05;04 - 00;01;26;05
Ashley
Yes, happy to have you. We've had such fun conversations. And one thing that really stuck out in my mind, at least to start, is you said your your family really shaped a lot of how you grew up and there were dynamics that really influence to your today. Will you share with us a little bit about that experience? Absolutely.

00;01;26;05 - 00;01;50;17
Betty
Yeah. So I'm a Jersey girl in case anyone is a Jersey fan there. But my family is very multicultural, so I think that has had a lot to do with who I am and how I work with people and interact with people and, and care about community. My my grandma used to say that we were all different flavors, and therefore we all had a little bit something different to bring.

00;01;50;25 - 00;02;02;03
Betty
So that's kind of the the approach that I take with, with everything that I do of how to incorporate people's individuality and cultural sensitivity and like who they are and then how I'm also a leader.

00;02;02;03 - 00;02;12;02
Ashley
I love that, I love that and with with, you know, family all over the place, different, different backgrounds with stories from that background. Stay with you the most.

00;02;12;03 - 00;02;47;04
Betty
Yeah, that's a good question. I think one, something that really resonated with me about my grandma again, actually is learning. I didn't realize how how different her approach to building a family was at the time that she did. So, so, for example, she was married to a black man in the 60s, which was, if, you know, like there was a lot going on right there as far as, you know, racial tensions and whatnot.

00;02;47;07 - 00;03;08;12
Betty
And she raised her children, like, in that environment and even like learning after she passed that she was like one woman in a in a community that was very like black and brown and like being strong and confident enough to, like, carry herself and her children through that and allowing them to experience that was very interesting to me.

00;03;08;12 - 00;03;20;29
Betty
So that's like one story that I thought was resonant and how strong she had to be to be like, this is the person that I love. I'm going to continue with that no matter what you think about it. Like that's been really, really interesting to learn about her.

00;03;21;02 - 00;03;31;29
Ashley
Speaking of being strong, I'm curious some of the hardships that maybe you experienced and maybe had had to learn to get through yourself.

00;03;32;05 - 00;04;09;28
Betty
Yeah. So I think the things that I experienced when I was growing up and, and that have still sort of brought how my brought how I think about things in the current state is one. So my mom is LGBTQ plus. So that has been that was very interesting growing up because at first I got a lot of questions about that, which I had to figure out very early on how to answer those in a way that was true to her and also wasn't put me into a position where I felt like scared or or bullied and whatnot.

00;04;09;28 - 00;04;33;10
Betty
So that was a challenge in itself. But also because of that, I think I also learned early on to have an open mind to a lot of things, because she obviously had a lot of friends that were also LGBTQ plus. So being able to be around them and hear and experience like what their lives were like, and they weren't that different from what my other friends parents were doing or whatever.

00;04;33;13 - 00;04;55;12
Betty
So that was one thing that I think really challenged my perspective early on. And then to, again, also being multicultural in a person of mixed heritage, I've always gotten questions about like, well, what are you and where are you coming from? And all that kind of stuff, which again, trying to learn that dynamic through time has been very interesting.

00;04;55;14 - 00;05;14;16
Betty
And now being in the software technology or tech world, I'm already being like one in a room. So then I have to be like, okay, you're the only like black or brown woman in the room. And then people are going to start asking questions about that, and then do I represent myself as that, or do I represent myself as in other?

00;05;14;18 - 00;05;21;01
Betty
So it's all very it's all very interesting. And I think I'm still learning how to approach some of that. And through my time.

00;05;21;03 - 00;05;21;23
Ashley
You know.

00;05;22;00 - 00;05;44;28
Ashley
I would describe you as empathetic. I think you would describe you as empathic. What's interesting with all of that also at play that you just mentioned, it's incredible to still be an empathetic person. How does that side of you show up in the way that you approach your work and your community?

00;05;45;00 - 00;06;12;06
Betty
Yeah. So so I am a my day job, as I say, is like a global program lead. And then my side gig also within murals. I'm an urge leader for our black excellence community. So I think my empathy and as far as like my thoughts on diversity and culture come through in that part, and that I am very much always thinking about what is mirror for like the community externally.

00;06;12;06 - 00;06;36;21
Betty
And then how does Miro support our internal community? So in the sense of do they feel like they have the right coaching? Do they feel like they have the right career opportunities? Are representing ourselves as employees in a way that we're getting the respect that we should have? Do I feel like we're represented in rooms where we may not be?

00;06;36;24 - 00;07;08;03
Betty
So, for example, with a lot of the marketing that we were doing early on, I was always asking a question of like, hey, like we have all these like amazing branding images, like, where are the black people? You know, like, so like just being the person that like, raise those questions. At one point we even had making fun now, but at one point we had like a hiring tagline that was a career with no edges, which if you're in the black community, that means something very different than what you would think, because it basically means you're going to be stressed out.

00;07;08;03 - 00;07;21;07
Betty
And I was like, I don't, I don't think we should use this. We should pick something else. So having that kind of perspective and being able to bring that to different leaders and people within Miro, it's kind of how I bring that up at the end of the day.

00;07;21;10 - 00;07;41;08
Ashley
Wow. And how selfless and fearless is, is how I would describe that. That's incredible. So you've been there for five years now. I'm curious what drew they originally and what keeps you invested? Is it the ability to challenge and bring awareness? What continues to keep you invested and engaged?

00;07;41;10 - 00;08;00;19
Betty
Yeah. So I what brought me to Miro actually, is I had a very close friend that I worked with at a previous company and she brought me in. So referral. So shout out to communities. But I think to when I started researching Mira and what they were doing, I love the product. I think it's a really cool product.

00;08;00;19 - 00;08;27;02
Betty
You can do a lot with it. It's something that you can use on a personal level, on a business level of your entrepreneur. And then obviously if you're like a mega company. So I think that was the first thing that drew me into Miro. When I got into Miro, what I realized is that when I built like an amazing group of friends and community, the people that I started with, most of them are still at Miro.

00;08;27;04 - 00;08;55;27
Betty
So we've been able to grow together, learn together, support each other through all of our career transitions and and wins and lessons. And I think that's really what has kept me at Miro, too, is like having that sort of foundation in that support at all times and being able to also see, like new people coming in and being able to coach and guide them through, you know, what they need to know in order to succeed at Miro as well.

00;08;55;29 - 00;09;08;19
Ashley
Just pivoting a bit. I'm curious your perspective on this in terms of AI, the topic of the moment, right. What's your perspective on diverse groups and the use of AI?

00;09;08;21 - 00;09;40;22
Betty
Yeah, hot topic for sure. I personally love AI, however, caveat I think I have a healthy recognition of the way that AI can be used for good or for not so good. And I think that has been true for every major sort of transitional period throughout time. So I'm of an age where I remember before the internet and after the internet and seeing like how that turned into what it is today.

00;09;40;22 - 00;10;17;11
Betty
And same I was around for before social media and then after social media. And with all these things, I've seen the good and the bad sides of it. With AI specifically, I think we have an opportunity while it's still growing, developing, changing every day. Especially if you are diverse, of having a voice and how that's used. And I think there is a healthy fear, especially within my community, of if they should use it, because it's not necessarily built for us, like the people that are building it and using it today are frankly just not, you know, not black and brown.

00;10;17;13 - 00;10;44;17
Betty
So my thought and perspective has been that, you know, I'm lucky enough to work at a company where we are very AI forward. So every day I'm playing with it, using it, seeing what I can do with it, sharing that with, sharing that with my friends and family so that they feel more comfortable with it, and then having open discussions about, you know, AI is not just to be used for creating like cat memes, like that's fun or like it's a lot more that you can do with it.

00;10;44;20 - 00;10;54;29
Betty
And I think being able to have those conversations within the community is very important, so that they start to see the value of it, and not just a fear of it.

00;10;55;01 - 00;11;15;17
Ashley
You obviously heavily invest in what it means to be a person of color in tech. My question is, what does that investment look like today? Is that the continued encouragement of others to lean in and engage, as you said, is it the awareness? Is it all of it?

00;11;15;20 - 00;11;40;28
Betty
Yeah, I think it's I think it's all of it. So, for example, being an urge leader, one of the things I've been heavily promoting is for the community in my community to go to different tech conferences. So for example, this year we will be going to Afro tech. We've done Afro tech a few years in a row as well, but that's like one example of a way that you could stay invested in the community.

00;11;40;28 - 00;12;01;06
Betty
One, I think personally, I learned so much from going to conferences because you hear from leaders in other areas, from different parts of the world, you also can stay on top of like what's happening, for example, last year at Afro Tech, I think every session that I attended was about AI, so clearly like it was top of everyone's minds.

00;12;01;06 - 00;12;29;10
Betty
I suspect this year will probably be the same. But being able to hear those perspectives live, ask, ask, ask questions, have conversations, doing the networking again as well as is also very key for me. The other thing that I do is I spend a lot of probably and healthy time on social media, and part of that time I'm using to like, research what's happening in the tech space, like what do I need to be aware of?

00;12;29;11 - 00;12;41;27
Betty
Like, what are we thinking about different regulations around AI or how different industries are using AI? So, that's kind of how I split my time and stay stay involved.

00;12;42;00 - 00;12;56;29
Ashley
I love that. And to circle back on on AI, you mentioned that humans are good, and I want to dig into what you meant by that. Can you give us your your perspective there?

00;12;57;02 - 00;13;23;28
Betty
Absolutely. Yeah. So when I so as a person who's constantly working in AI and using different tools and software, I found myself more frequently having an argument, which is very silly because then I'm arguing with like an internet animate object that doesn't actually have emotions and doesn't know me. And therefore I've started to think about, you know, where do I want to continue to have a relationship with, like an actual person?

00;13;23;28 - 00;13;57;07
Betty
And where does something like an AI come in? And with that kind of internal conversation, I found that AI is great for brainstorming, for thinking through strategies, for things that are more formulaic or database. However, what's really missing and what has given me the best ideas and allowed me, allowed me to challenge myself and challenge others has been conversations and dialogs with with my with my partners, with my coworkers, with my friends.

00;13;57;09 - 00;14;14;14
Betty
And that's the part that I think will never be able to replace. Even with this age of AI, there's nothing like, you know, closing your laptop and being like, let's go for coffee and chat this through. And that's not something that you can do with an AI. Like you can try, but it won't be the same. Like it doesn't.

00;14;14;21 - 00;14;33;28
Betty
It's not going to it's not going to give you jokes and like, like understand who you are as a person or the unique challenges that you have that that other person may understand. So that's why I think it's important to remember that, like, humans are never going to get replaced by AI. AI is simply a tool that you can use to help.

00;14;34;01 - 00;14;53;22
Ashley
Yeah, that will create a lot of calm right now. That statement right there, I love that you clearly are passionate about your quote unquote day job, right. And also pursue other things clearly. How do you balance the two?

00;14;53;24 - 00;15;17;25
Betty
That's a good question. Some days I still see, some days I don't. But I think with my day job, something that I care a lot about is making sure that, as you know, a software company or a tool that we are representing our customers. And because I worked on a scaled team often with, that means that that these customers are a little bit smaller and may not have actually talked to someone for some time.

00;15;17;28 - 00;15;39;19
Betty
So I want to make sure my job is creating programs and ways of scaling our engagement with these customers. So I find that very exciting because I think as far as customer success in tech, that's, you know, a direction that it's going is like, how do we do more one to many engagements? How do we scale that? How do we use automation, how do we use AI?

00;15;39;21 - 00;15;57;05
Betty
And those are all things that I'm doing every day of trying to figure out. So I do like being a pioneer in that front. On the flip side, it takes a lot of brain power, and there are many days where I end the day and I'm just like, I haven't eaten. I haven't done anything besides drink a cup of coffee.

00;15;57;07 - 00;16;22;29
Betty
So. So I find a lot of time where I'm either going outside to take a walk, or my favorite thing is I read a lot of spicy romance books, so doing something that's completely different from what I've been doing all day so that I don't have to engage my brain as much. The other things that I would want to incorporate more is I, you know, I thought about doing Pilates more often.

00;16;22;29 - 00;16;46;03
Betty
I started a while ago, and then I had to stop, but like, getting back into, like, physical activity. And again, I think the other thing that keeps me balanced is having, like, a community outside of work where I'm spending time with my friends. I love going to different restaurants and exploring my different parts of the community. I do a lot of travel, so somehow I find the balance.

00;16;46;05 - 00;17;05;27
Betty
So another thing that I've recently enacted for myself is I try to take at least one day off a month, which is very hard. Like I think we in the US have a very work, work, work work, work mindset, so it's hard to get out of that. So I forced myself to be like, you need to take a day off every month to do something, even if it's just to sit in the house and do laundry.

00;17;05;28 - 00;17;12;13
Betty
Like you just have to close the laptop one day. So that's another thing I've been doing to find the balance and keep it.

00;17;12;20 - 00;17;32;04
Ashley
You know, when I appreciate about that is you didn't say, I just have it all figured out. I have the perfect balance. I think that's a really kind way of putting it, because I know our listeners are probably trying to find the balance, too. And what I, again, really appreciate about what you just said is it's a work in progress.

00;17;32;04 - 00;17;56;20
Ashley
You're trying different things, you're seeing what works, but you're working towards it and you're respecting your health and mental health and well-being and all that good stuff by being willing to explore it, which is a reminder, all of us, myself included. So thank you. Yeah. You mentioned in our previous conversation that in your community there are first time wealth builders.

00;17;56;22 - 00;18;05;12
Ashley
What have you learned with this subject that feels unfamiliar in terms of how people can support each other?

00;18;05;13 - 00;18;36;14
Betty
Yeah. No, I so yeah, definitely being in tech, obviously there comes a certain level of income that I think most people in my community have not experienced or have had their families experience. I'll speak for myself in saying that, like, I definitely am, probably now or early on, I was like one of the only people who were making six figures, and that carries a lot of weight, because sometimes you may not have the familial knowledge to know what to do with that.

00;18;36;17 - 00;18;53;25
Betty
For some other communities or some other cultures where you do. So that's been something that we all, as a community have said that we want to learn more about, especially when for Mira, for example, we have like stock options, like what do you do with the stock option? Like, does that mean I have money? Doesn't mean that did it just like paper money?

00;18;53;26 - 00;19;15;14
Betty
Like what is that? So it's time to have those conversations with each other because none of us know. And I think that, again, has been a growing experience. I've been at Mira for five years, and I think I just, in the last year, have found out what that all is and what it means, and also trying to make sure that I have a, a personal team that can support me in that.

00;19;15;15 - 00;19;33;10
Betty
So I have now a financial planner that I'm talking to that is helping me figure that all out and make sure that I'm, you know, finding all the right tax. I was gonna say loopholes that what I mean by finding all the right to tax benefits to make sure I'm keeping my, you know, the wealth that I'm generating, that I can support my family.

00;19;33;12 - 00;19;55;13
Betty
I'm an only child. So trying to figure out, like, what do I do with my mom when she gets of age? Do I have everything set up the right way for her and for myself? So everything like that. So those are conversations that we, we within my, my friend group and within the community that I'm leading at Mira, we try to have frequently so that we we are sharing best practices and tips and and learnings.

00;19;55;18 - 00;20;21;11
Ashley
I love that. I love that having the conversation right. That's where it starts. I'm going to ask you my favorite question and my final question. My favorite question to ask is knowing everything you know now with all of your life experiences, everything you've been through, good and bad. If you can tell one thing to your younger self, what would you say.

00;20;21;13 - 00;20;26;08
Betty
Investing Google when you first heard about it now?

00;20;26;11 - 00;20;51;18
Betty
I think the the one thing I would tell my younger self is to trust my intuition. I think we so I know I suffer from imposter syndrome. So there's many times where I have been like, that's not a good idea. Or like you're not the adult in the room, like let someone else make a decision. And recently I've been leaning more into that and realizing that, like, actually, you are the adult in the room like you do know what you're talking about.

00;20;51;20 - 00;21;12;22
Betty
Like you do have the knowledge and experience to to make a right decision. So I think if I could have told my younger self to lean into that more earlier, I would have gotten much further along a little faster. But again, it's it's all growth. It's all learning. I wouldn't do anything differently, but I think that's something that, like, everyone should definitely lean into.

00;21;12;25 - 00;21;28;23
Ashley
I love that, I love that that is a beautiful mic drop moment. I just appreciate you and your genuine, honest perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation today and just appreciate, you.

00;21;28;25 - 00;21;31;14
Betty
Know, thank you. Ashley is super happy to be here.