Thinking with AI: Partner not tool

Human-Centered AI at Work with Monica Marquez: A Practical Adoption Playbook

If you’re still treating AI like a shiny gadget, this episode will be a polite intervention.Monica Marquez (Flipwork) shows how to build a human-centered AI adoption playbook that actually sticks.We dig into AI as a partner, not a tool; psychological safety for teams; and the one-workflow-per-month rule that turns experimentation into measurable AI ROI.You’ll learn how to avoid work slop, build agentic workflows, and translate machine output into authentic intelligence that reflects your expertise. 🤖

What you’ll learn

• Shift identity first: “I experiment with AI daily.”
• Redesign workflows before adding tools.
• Create psychological safety so teams can try, fail, and improve.
• Kill work slop and layer your context for quality.
• Build agentic workflows that scale judgment and consistency.
• Track time saved and quality gains to prove ROI.

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Quotes from the Episode

• “The real danger isn’t killer robots. It’s disengaged humans.”
• “Don’t ship work slop. Turn artificial intelligence into your authentic intelligence.”
• “Redesign your workflow first, then layer AI. Otherwise you just automate the old mess.”
• “Stop treating AI like a tool. Treat it like a partner.”
• “Adoption starts with identity: I experiment with AI every day.”
• “Use AI for five-dollar tasks so you can solve five-thousand-dollar problems.”

Chapters

00:00 Welcome, who is Monica Marquez and what is Flipwork

02:59 AI as a partner, not a tool

05:34 Practical example: recruiting, prompts, and human judgment

07:02 Generational beliefs, “artificial intern,” and mindset shifts

11:24 From effort to impact: redefining success with AI

12:46 Redesigning workflows before layering AI

14:44 Psychological safety and daily experiments

16:55 Leaders model usage, run side-by-side experiments

18:37 Avoiding “work slop” and building authentic intelligence

21:44 Doing more of your “zone of genius” with AI

24:39 The one-workflow-per-month rule

29:25 Industry adoption patterns, lessons from Blockbuster vs Netflix

33:12 Personal AI use cases and voice-based workflows

36:32 Matrix, Terminator, and Monica’s real fear: disengaged humans

37:58 Where to find Monica and Flipwork

Where to find Monica Marquez

• Her Agency: Flipwork
• Monica’s site: themonicamarquez.com
• Newsletter: Ay Ay Ay, AI

About Dietmar Fischer

Host of Beginner’s Guide to AI. Economist and digital marketer helping teams turn AI from hype into workflows.Training, talks, and courses with thousands of participants. 🎙️

Go to argoberlin.com to see how we can help you!

Music credit: “Modern Situations” by Unicorn Heads 🎵

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