If you’ve been feeling a little gaslit by your AI tools lately—one minute brilliant, the next minute chaos—you’re not alone. In this episode, Megan and Nicole sit down with longtime friend-of-AI-Portland Nicolle Merrill to talk about the real state of AI in late 2025: the mandates, the messiness, the disillusionment, and why everyone secretly wishes AI would just manage their calendar already.

Nicolle’s been in the conversational AI world since before generative AI was cool, and she brings the kind of clarity that only comes from talking to hundreds of teams who are all trying to navigate the same fog.

Along the way:

🌀 Why “AI-first” mandates are breaking middle managers

🧹 What “AI workplace slop” is—and how to avoid producing it

🔍 The skills people _actually_ need before anyone starts talking about agents

🧩 Why “no-code” tools are still… code

📉 And why disillusionment might be the breath of fresh air we all needed

Plus: The agent hype cycle and Nicolle’s case for starting small, asking better questions, and treating AI like the messy coworker it currently is, not the magical productivity elf the marketing pages promise.

Related Links:

- Boring AI

- Nicolle Merrill on LinkedIn

Chapters

00:00 – Baby carrots and near-anniversaries

01:16 – Who is Nicolle Merrill?

03:35 – The messy middle of organizational AI

07:41 – Mandates, pressure, and the illusion of expertise

11:49 – Disillusionment as a feature, not a bug

20:49 – Agents: what they are vs. what the marketing says

27:25 – AI literacy, data fluency, and responsible use

36:57 – Social norms, transparency, and the “workplace slop” era

43:43 – The chaos machine and the shiny-object spiral

47:19 – What we’re curious about heading into 2026

51:24 – How small teams can actually get started

We had too many sandwiches. We had too few proper nights of sleep. But we had just the right amount of AI Portland energy.

In this episode, Megan and Nicole debrief a jam-packed week featuring AI Launchpad Northwest and AI Portland's AI for Public Good meet up. They cover the chaos and success of organizing their first definitely-not-a-conference, from small group Q&As with local experts to the very real challenge of predicting catering.

They also dig into highlights from speakers Jordan Plawner, Cassie Scyphers, and Dr. Richard Bruno - each bringing a different but equally powerful take on what responsible AI looks like in 2025.

Along the way:

🥪 How AI Launchpad nearly became the Sandwich Crisis of 2025

🧠 Why Jordan says you only need to be three days ahead of your team

🚑 The life-saving power of AI in public health

Plus: Big shoutouts to our sponsors (thank you forever), a wrap hangover, live music teasers, and the exact moment Megan realized she’d made it through the week: holding an ice cream cone at the end of a long week.

If you meet your soulmate at an AI Portland event, just know the officiants are already picked. (It’s in the fine print.)

In this episode, Megan and Nicole debrief an absolutely wild Startup Week, complete with 400+ RSVPs, 11 hackathon teams (including a few surprises), and one very legit Cancun prize. They also dive into what’s coming next, from their most ambitious event yet to an AI-for-good session you won’t want to miss.

Along the way:

👰 Why we now offer wedding officiation as a member benefit

🛠️ How 11 teams built working AI tools in under 30 hours

🌶️ What makes a “spicy” startup pitch

🧠 Addie Olson’s cat-filled crash course on ML and NLP

📣 Why we’re (still) shouting about the proposed Prosper Portland funding cuts

Plus: Monday brain fog, the GIF vs. JIF debate that never ends

Also featuring: A full breakdown of AI Launchpad Northwest—our June 11 extended event built to get teams up to speed (and a little past it) on AI literacy, strategy, and automation. Don’t call it a conference.

🎟️ Tickets: https://lu.ma/ygct00ld

Related links:

• Addie's slides from Thursday: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1G7ZZxoyOjMXsVkRO4X0pU3pu7-1SX7WQ-aMN_T3KYdU/edit?usp=sharing
• Support Prosper Portland: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwKGSuXqLSqkPax3VpYtz5kuuP_hESafzN7IUJmsD3O29_0Q/viewform

Someone might panic if you call it a conference. Someone else wonders if ChatGPT would tell her if she's dumb. And a certain French bulldog named Gary refuses to get off the mic. It’s another classic episode: part community update, part philosophical debate, part dog-induced chaos.

In this episode, Megan and Nicole talk about what’s coming next for AI Portland: from a definitely-not-a-conference event to an upcoming build challenge with UFO-adjacent priorities. They also dig into the weird emotional weight of AI feedback, why sycophantic robots aren’t helping anyone get better, and what it means to be the human in the loop _with actual_ critical thinking.

Along the way:

📆 Why we’re hosting a half-day event that’s definitely _not_ a conference

🧠 Why ChatGPT's compliments feel like something your mom would say

🪞 Whether AI can _actually_ tell you what you need to hear to get better

💥 And why the productivity gap might just explode in the age of AI

Plus: Heather Havrilesky makes them feel weird, the robots are sycophants, and Gary attempts a full podcast takeover and a not-so-secret yearning for federal data privacy regulation.

Related Links:

• Hello World! Demystifying AI/ML/NLP

• Zero-to-One Build Challenge

• Perplexity is making a browser

• OpenAI rolls back sycophantic update
• Chat - Heather Havrilesky
• AI is coming for the unmotivated - Sinead Bovell

Fresh off their latest event (literally - they walked in the door and hit record), Megan and Nicole cozy up for a late-night debrief on futures thinking in the age of AI. From why our brains are wired for dystopia to what we’d actually do with a two-day work week, they unpack what it means to imagine better futures, and why it’s so dang hard.

Along the way:


🧠 Why clarity of direction > certainty


🔮 Why imagining 2035 made them sweat


💼 Why "human in the loop" might not be the final answer


🧃 Why Megan should never be in charge of snacks


🕴️ Plus, that one time they presented to a room full of diplomats and Megan said “brogrammer”

Also featuring: coveralls redemption, shoutouts to the volunteer dream team, and a maybe-real-maybe-not promise of AI Portland merch.

Related links:

• Aimee's slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A1Ns6WGutINzeshtDhu1BjRbKDvfF4lA/view?usp=sharing
• Christian Hammer's article on self-fulfilling doom (https://christianhammer.io/self-fulfilling-doom/)
• What do you do with Brogrammer (https://medium.com/@megnotarte/what-do-you-do-with-brogrammer-df67752f48ec)

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Hosts: Nicole Mors, Megan Notarte

Editor: Marjorie Dela Cruz (https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjorie-dela-cruz-3471231b9/)

In this conversation, Megan and Nicole recap March's AI Portland Event, discussing the challenges job seekers face, ageism in hiring, the importance of tailored applications, and how AI can be leveraged effectively in the job search process. The discussion highlights the need for human discernment in an increasingly automated world, emphasizing empathy for both job seekers and recruiters. Megan and Nicole discuss the significance of networking and maintaining a strong online presence, particularly on LinkedIn, in today's job market. They emphasize the importance of community and in-person networking events (like AI Portland!), especially during These Times. The conversation concludes with Megan sharing her recent experience vibecoding with Loveable, illustrating the potential and challenges of integrating AI into software development.

Thank you to HR Annie, True Calling Recruitment and our panelists for sharing their time and expertise with the community!

Panelists:

Viviana Dominguez

Tim Butler

Elisa Gooding

Robin Way

Moderator: Katy Byrtus

Links:

* Prompting for Job Seekers

* Megan's Vibecoding experience

This is a special crossover episode in collaboration with Seth Fleischauer and the Make it Mindful podcast. This conversation recaps the February AI Portland event and explores the intersection of AI and education, highlighting diverse perspectives from educators on the implications of AI in the classroom. The discussion emphasizes the importance of teachers in navigating the complexities of AI, the need for community engagement in educational reform, and the challenges of ensuring equitable access to AI tools for all students.

Related links:

• Make it Mindful