AI, Trust, and the Human Shift: What Automotive Leaders Must Do Next

Dec 11, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Register NOW for the UHY 2026 Annual Automotive Supplier Outlook - click here

Sometimes a conversation hits so deeply that it demands a part two , and that’s exactly what happened after our episode with MIT’s Dr. Bryan Reimer. The response was immediate, and the very first message came from CADIA CEO Cheryl Thompson, who had been quietly diving deep into AI for months. Her reaction captured what so many leaders are feeling right now: excitement, overwhelm, fear, and possibility all at once.

This episode brings Cheryl and Bryan together to talk about what AI is really doing inside companies — not the hype, but the human impact. The emotional truth? AI is forcing us to look hard at our culture, our trust levels, and our willingness to unlearn the habits that hold us back. That’s where transformation starts.

Cheryl shares how AI has changed the way she works, creates, leads, and even manages her daily life. But she’s honest about the trap many leaders fall into: using AI to produce more… instead of stepping back to breathe, think, and lead. Bryan brings the research lens, grounding the conversation in what AI can do, what it can’t, and how leaders must shift from delegation to collaboration if they want AI to be truly useful.

Together they unpack psychological safety, generational differences, the rise of agentic AI, and the cultural tension AI exposes inside legacy automotive. And they remind us that AI will not replace leaders — but leaders who use AI well will absolutely outpace those who don’t.

This isn’t a conversation about technology. It’s a conversation about courage, trust, and the future of leadership in an industry that desperately needs to move faster while staying true to its values.

Themes Discussed in This Episode

How trust and culture determine whether AI succeeds or stalls
Why leaders must collaborate with AI instead of delegating blindly
What the Wow, Whoa, Grow framework reveals about human behavior
How generational differences shape AI adoption and comfort levels
Why AI in automotive demands unlearning old processes, not just adding tools
The risk of locking down AI too tightly — and the risk of letting it run wild
How small businesses and startups are using AI to outrun traditional OEMs

Watch the Full Video on YouTube - click here

This episode is sponsored by Lockton, click here to learn more

Featured Guests

Cheryl Thompson, CEO, CADIA

Cheryl leads the CADIA: Culture Evolved, where she equips organizations to build equitable, high-performing cultures. A former manufacturing engineering leader in the automotive industry, Cheryl is known for her human-centered approach to leadership, her commitment to psychological safety, and her skillful integration of AI into learning and development. She helps teams work smarter, remove friction, and accelerate change by pairing technology with deep emotional awareness.

Dr. Bryan Reimer, Research Scientist, MIT

Dr. Bryan Reimer is a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics and a founding member of the MIT AgeLab. His work examines how humans and automation interact in real-world conditions, including driving, attention, decision-making, and safety. He leads three major academic–industry consortia focused on human-centered vehicle technology and is the author of How to Make AI Useful, a practical guide for leaders navigating AI’s cultural and operational impact.

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths

Jan Griffiths is a champion for culture transformation and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in This Episode

Episode Highlights

[02:35] Cheryl’s AI “wow” moment: Enthusiasm turns into overload, forcing her to reset and take the lead back from the tool.
[04:06] Bryan on LLMs: Useful copilots, not autopilots — and only one part of a much larger AI ecosystem.
[07:18] Human in the Loop: Cheryl and Bryan break down why AI must be viewed as an opinion, not a fact.
[11:14] Next-level use cases: Cheryl explains how to move beyond meeting summaries into real business transformation.
[14:00] Leaders must stop throwing AI to IT: AI adoption requires business alignment, courage, and clarity.
[16:33] Culture and unlearning: Why legacy processes slow AI more than technology does.
[20:52] Generational differences: Gen X trusts AI most; boomers the least; Gen Z remains skeptical.
[23:03] The collaboration equation: Neural activity drops when we delegate to AI — but rises when we collaborate with it.
[32:18] Capturing knowledge before it walks out the door: AI as a tool for organizational memory.
[34:29] Final advice: Leaders must experiment, question, and use AI to learn faster than the pace of change.

Top Quotes

“AI won’t replace us, but leaders who use it well will outrun those who don’t.” — Cheryl Thompson
“Large language models are opinions. You have to decide whether you trust that electronic opinion.” — Bryan Reimer
“The future belongs to those who ask how AI becomes useful, not those who sit on the sidelines.” — Bryan Reimer
“Most people are using maybe one percent of AI’s potential. The opportunity is enormous.” — Cheryl Thompson

Jan Griffiths

“You cannot codify a bad culture. You have to fix the human issues first.”
“Leaders today can’t throw AI over the wall to IT. This is a business responsibility.”

Send us your feedback or questions, we'd love to hear from you — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.