Key Takeaways
- AI adoption is accelerating, helping make employees more efficient, productive, and competitive.
- Organizations need governance and guardrails to adopt AI responsibly and at scale.
- Security and productivity don’t have to compete – they can reinforce one another.
- AI will become one of security’s most valuable tools for managing cyber risks.
- AI adoption works best when innovation and security move together.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed about the Ready. Or Not. series is that each conversation builds on the last. We started by exploring the opportunities and risks of agentic AI. Then we looked at how organizations can build trust as AI becomes part of everyday business. This episode addresses the next logical question: How do we actually use AI safely?
Comedian Nathan Macintosh sits down with Rinki Sethi, CISO and CSO at Upwind Security, for a conversation about what responsible AI adoption actually looks like. They cover everything from AI governance and guardrails to user experience and the growing role AI will play in cybersecurity.
Nathan continues to ask the questions many of us are wondering. Should we be worried? How much more productive do we need to be? And can AI actually make security better?
Watch the full episode on Readiverse.
What I appreciated most about this conversation is that Rinki is genuinely excited about new technology and protecting it. She didn’t frame AI as something organizations need to worry about. Instead, she focused on encouraging businesses to move forward with confidence by putting the right guardrails in place. Here are the ideas that stayed with me.
The Push for AI Adoption
One thing that becomes clear from the conversation is that many organizations aren’t only encouraging their employees to adopt AI – they’re mandating it. These companies recognize that using AI helps people solve problems more efficiently, which is essential for staying competitive.
“Every single company has a mandate … we’ve got to use AI everywhere in the company.”
– Rinki Sethi
The question is no longer if AI belongs in the workplace, but do employees have the right guardrails to use it responsibly? As AI adoption accelerates, organizations need clear standards around which AI tools employees can use and how company data is protected.
Sneak Peek: AI Governance
Embed short clip here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/teF51pxGeYU
Rinki explains that governance isn’t just about protecting against new risks. It’s about creating a framework that helps employees use AI responsibly while keeping pace with evolving regulations and industry standards.
The Hidden Benefit of Productivity
Here’s something I never thought about before. Rinki explains that AI isn’t simply helping people work faster. In many cases, it’s leaving room for the highest-performing employees to excel.
She used software developers as an example. When AI-powered coding assistants became available, many assumed they’d only help less experienced developers. Instead, some of the best engineers began using them to move faster. They were able to solve more complex problems and spend more time on creative work rather than repetitive tasks.
That kind of productivity is exactly why organizations are mandating AI. It doesn’t limit what people can do – it helps give them more space to focus on higher-value work.
“You can be way more creative with how you’re doing things … cause you’re creating the space for that.”
– Rinki Sethi
AI’s Role in Cybersecurity
“How can AI be used to help with security and not be just looked at as a demon thing that’s here to take us out?”
– Nathan Macintosh
When we talk about AI and security, the conversation is often focused on risk. But Rinki believes that AI will become one of cybersecurity’s greatest advantages.
Security teams are already overwhelmed by the volume of alerts, logs, and data they need to investigate every day. Human analysts simply can’t keep up. Rather than replacing security professionals, AI assists them by filtering through massive amounts of data in seconds. This helps analysts identify false positives so they can focus on investigating real threats.
My takeaway is that the future of cybersecurity isn’t about people versus AI – it’s about people working alongside AI to help make better decisions, respond faster, and scale their operations in ways that weren’t possible before.
Ready for What’s Next?
Every episode of Ready. Or Not. has reminded me that the biggest AI conversations are often about people – how we adapt, how we learn, and how we build the confidence to use new technology responsibly. The real opportunity for organizations isn’t just adopting AI. It’s creating an environment where employees can use AI to work smarter, become more creative, and deliver better outcomes for the business.
Watch the full episode on Readiverse.
FAQs
Q: Why are organizations adopting AI so quickly?
A: Many organizations see AI as a way to help improve productivity, increase efficiency, and give employees more time to spend on higher-value work.
Q: What is AI governance?
A: AI governance is the combination of policies, processes, and oversight that helps organizations adopt AI responsibly while managing security, privacy, and compliance risks.
Q: Why is user experience important for security?
A: Security controls that create unnecessary friction often encourage people to find workarounds. Designing secure systems that are also easy to use helps improve both adoption and protection.
Q: Can AI help improve cybersecurity?
A: AI can help security teams analyze large amounts of data, which helps reduce false positives. This in turn helps teams prioritize threats and respond more efficiently to security events.
Q: Should people be afraid of AI?
A: Rinki’s perspective is that a healthy sense of skepticism is valuable, but fear shouldn’t prevent organizations from adopting technology responsibly. Education, governance, and strong security practices can help organizations use AI with confidence.
Q: What’s the biggest takeaway from this episode?
A: AI adoption isn’t about choosing between innovation and security. Organizations that combine strong governance with practical security measures will be better positioned to take advantage of AI’s benefits while managing its risks.
Katherine Demacopoulos is Senior Director of Global Content Strategy and Programs at Commvault.