Dave Berner is building AI software to help small to medium law firms compete with the big boys in an AI age. He chats with Mat about using AI as a sounding board, keeping people in the loop, and how he thinks about career planning when so much of the future remains uncertain. Subscribe to The Supportive in your podcast player (or via Spotify and Apple Podcasts), or watch the full episode below. Every episode this season will also be on video, so please subscribe to the Help Scout YouTube channel for new episode notifications.

Some key moments

  • (2:36) Using AI as a thinking partner and not a hype man

  • (8:19) Is Dave disrupting or enabling?

  • (11:15) Who's responsible when AI gets it wrong?

  • (13:20) Doctors and their AI diagnosis problem

  • (19:24) Why Dave stopped trying to pick one job title

  • (23:22) Building your network before you need it

  • (29:51) Embracing AI without losing yourself

Too long, didn't watch? Here’s a concise version

  • Trust the person behind the AI.

    Dave says, "You're basically paying for insurance" by having a trusted, informed person to verify and be responsible for a decision even when AI made it.

  • Use AI as a sparring partner, not an oracle.

    Conversational AI can help you figure out your own answers, rather than tell you what to think.

  • Start asking questions now. Find the people you trust and ask them what they've noticed about your strengths and the areas that might need work.

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Mathew Patterson
Mathew Patterson

A veteran support leader, Mat spent years teaching better online support at Help Scout before founding More Human Content. Subscribe to The Supportive or find him on LinkedIn.