Most organizations are excited about AI. Far fewer are actually ready for it. In this episode of The Pluralsight Podcast, host Josh Burkhead sits down with Faye Ellis — AWS Hero and Pluralsight Author Fellow, cloud architect turned educator, and AI upskilling strategist — to talk about what separates organizations that are stuck in AI curiosity mode from those that are building real, measurable capability.

Faye brings a practitioner's perspective to some of the most pressing questions in L&D and technology leadership today: How do you close skills gaps when the technology keeps moving? How do you bring non-technical teams along without losing them? And why are 80% of AI pilots still failing to reach production — even as investment in AI continues to climb?

Whether you're leading an L&D function, managing a technology team, or trying to figure out where to even start with AI upskilling, this conversation is packed with frameworks and honest perspectives you can take back to your team.

In this episode:

• Why fear is not an AI strategy — and what to do instead

• How to move from AI curiosity to a skills-first, outcome-driven program

• The case for AI literacy at every level of the organization, not just technical teams

• What a successful upskilling program actually looks like in practice

• Why the organizations getting it right treat learning as a continuous journey, not a project

Chapters:

00:01:08 — From Data Centers to AI: Faye's Career Journey

00:04:07 — What Got Her Hooked on Teaching

00:05:41 — The AI Curiosity Trap: Why Organizations Stay Stuck

00:09:21 — What It Looks Like When Strategy Clicks

00:12:53 — Running a Skills Gap Analysis in a Moving Target Environment

00:15:13 — Including Non-Technical Teams in the Talent Pipeline

00:18:31 — Building a Program That Actually Works

00:21:07 — Connecting Learning to Business Outcomes

00:26:13 — Designing for Confidence, Not Just Competence

00:31:22 — Scaling a Learning Culture Without Letting It Fizzle

00:37:00 — Trust as the Hidden Driver of Upskilling Success

00:41:02 — What Leaders Are Still Getting Wrong About AI Literacy

00:44:20 — Rapid Fire: Myths, Hard Truths, and One Thing in Common

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Connect with Faye Ellis on LinkedIn: https://plrsg.ht/420lS3W

Questions or comments? podcast@pluralsight.com

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