How to Use AI and Data Better in Everyday Life with Jess Carter

Data Driven Leadership

From writing better emails to helping her son learn the alphabet, Jess Carter is using AI in unexpected ways.

In this Q&A episode, Jess shares how she’s integrating AI into both her professional and personal routines, with real examples that span leadership, data storytelling, parenting, and everyday problem-solving. She offers practical advice for getting started with AI, from building stronger prompts to identifying the tasks where it saves the most time and adds the most value.

Along the way, Jess answers listener questions about increasing data literacy without a technical background, working effectively with consultants, and determining what actually works in digital engagement. If you're curious about how to use AI and data more confidently and more creatively, this episode is a great place to begin.

Jess also references a few favorite resources throughout the episode, including:

• Data Literacy: A User’s Guide by David L. Herzog

• storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

• How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff

• The study Double-blind test of the effects of distant intention on water crystal formation by Dean Radin, Dail Hayssen, Masaru Emoto, and Takashige Kizue

In this episode, you will learn:

• Ways to begin using AI in your daily work

• How to build confidence in data analysis without a technical background

• What to look for when bringing in a consultant to support your team

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Introduction to the episode with Jess Carter

(01:54) How Jess uses AI as a parent, leader, and executive coach

(05:19) Simple ways to get started with ChatGPT in your daily work

(08:57) Books and tools to improve your data literacy

(13:49) When to bring in consultants and how to get real results from them

(24:27) Jess’s go-to method for making sense of messy data

(26:52) Jess’s reflection on cancer and story of resilience