Episode Summary: Truth About AI, Work & Human Creativity ft. Andy Oliva | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby

Podcast: Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby
Host: Joseph Shalaby
Guest: Andy Oliva (Founder, Lucky Day Labs)
Date: December 12, 2025

Overview

This episode centers on the realities of artificial intelligence (AI) in business, the evolving nature of work, and the role of human creativity in an increasingly automated world. Host Joseph Shalaby and guest Andy Oliva—a creative AI consultant and founder of Lucky Day Labs—engage in an honest, wide-ranging discussion about how AI is being integrated into companies, what it means for employees, and why transparency, adaptability, and authentic creativity matter now more than ever.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Transition from Employee to Founder

• Responsibility Shift: Andy describes the daunting leap of becoming a founder—where "the buck stops with you" and every risk and detail matters (00:00–00:19, 25:29–27:14).
• Liability and Risk: As an entrepreneur, you're fully responsible for outcomes, unlike in employee roles where organizations absorb risk.

2. Demystifying AI’s Role in the Workplace

• Augmentation, Not Replacement: Andy’s philosophy is to use AI to complement and augment human roles, freeing people from tedious tasks and enabling more meaningful work (00:35–03:41).
• CEO Perspective: Joseph emphasizes that those who adopt AI excel, especially in sectors like mortgage and real estate:

  “AI is enhancing those people that adopt AI… if they're using AI, they're performing at a much higher level than those that are not.” (03:44)

• Upskilling: Andy stresses the need to retrain and upskill current employees:

  “I want to help those employees and those teams upskill and retrain as quickly as possible... to avoid situations like layoffs.” (04:56)

3. Navigating the ‘Buzzword’ Nature of AI

• Filtering the Noise: Andy helps companies determine which AI solutions provide real value, cautioning that not every product labeled “AI” deserves adoption (06:33).
• Overwhelmed by Innovation: Both host and guest share feeling overwhelmed by the speed of AI advancements:

  “Even [Jony Ive] mentioned that he's feeling overwhelmed with the pace of AI innovation... If that guy is feeling overwhelmed, don't feel guilty.” (07:03)

4. Impact on Specific Job Roles and Sectors

• Receptionists and Voice Agents: The automation of roles like receptionists is possible but nuanced; company culture and customer expectations play a critical role (09:19–10:34).
• Quality of Experience: New voice AIs offer natural-language interactions, but Andy argues the customer service experience and company brand must come first (10:51–13:23).

5. Transparency and Leadership in AI Adoption

• Feedback Loops: Andy argues for frank, transparent cultures—both to improve customer experience and to avoid top-down initiatives that disconnect from the real needs on the ground (12:00–13:23, 41:46–45:16).

6. The Human Side of Technology Evolution

• Personal Background: Andy shares his pathway from childhood curiosity to tech expertise, and describes his frustration with bad user experiences as a motivation for starting Lucky Day Labs (13:38–15:59).
• Entrepreneurial Opportunities: It’s never been easier to start a business, and AI is removing barriers that kept people from creating and innovating in the past.

7. Work, Gamification, and Competition

• Gamifying Progress: Joseph describes gamifying all facets of his life, using competition as a motivator (18:31–19:54).
• Healthy Competition: Andy prefers competing with past versions of himself rather than others—an approach echoed in personal and professional development (20:04–22:51).

8. Lifelong Learning and Personal Growth

• Books & Habits: Andy recommends The Power of Habit and Thinking, Fast and Slow as life-changing reads for self-improvement (23:38–25:04).

9. AI, Job Security, and Market Shifts

• Raising the Floor and the Ceiling: AI lowers entry barriers (anyone can build an app) but also raises expectations for productivity and innovation (30:35–33:49).
• Layoffs & Uncertainty: The real driver of layoffs is broader economic and strategic uncertainty, not just AI (30:03–31:53).

10. Customer Experience and AI Expectations

• Changing Benchmarks: As AI advances, customer expectations for seamless, responsive service rise sharply—old phone trees won’t cut it anymore (33:24–34:25).

11. Andy’s Roles Outside Lucky Day Labs

• OpenAI Forum Leader: Andy explains his volunteer role fostering AI literacy and community, including organizing events and summits (34:36–36:56).
• AI Film Festival: He created a showcase for artists using AI in filmmaking, aiming to ease artists’ fears by demonstrating new, creative possibilities (37:05–40:10).

12. Societal Attitudes and the Double-Edged Sword of AI

• Adopting AI Responsibly: The discussion covers fears (especially among engineers and creatives) and the importance of leveraging AI for productivity—not laziness (40:10–41:46).
• Education and Empowerment: Andy’s launching an academy to help regular people harness AI and safely build their own tools (47:34–48:44).

13. Leadership & Culture

• Kind Candor:

  “The single most important thing … is to just lead transparently and with kind candor and foster that culture. Because if your teammate… doesn’t feel like they can trust you … how are you supposed to lead?” (41:46)

14. Personal & Business Philosophies

• Improving Every Place:

  “…try and leave things better than how I found them in life... can this be better? How can I make this better?” (45:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Competition & Self-Improvement:

  “I don't like to compete with other people. I like to compete with the version of myself from yesterday.”
  — Andy Oliva (20:55)

• On Leadership:

  “If your teammate… doesn’t feel like they can trust you … how are you supposed to lead?”
  — Andy Oliva (41:46)

• On Accountability as a Founder:

  “Now you're responsible, right? Like, the buck stops with you.”
  — Andy Oliva (00:00, 25:29)

• On The Reality of AI Adoption:

  “AI is enhancing those people that adopt AI… if they're using AI, they're performing at a much higher level than those that are not.”
  — Joseph Shalaby (03:44)

• On AI’s Transformative Power for Creatives:

  “If you’re an artist... I want to try and help show you how to use AI in your existing creativity ... in a way that’s authentic to who you are as an artist.”
  — Andy Oliva (39:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 — The founder’s burden: responsibility, risk, and liability
• 03:44 — AI in business: enhancement vs. replacement
• 06:33 — Sorting the AI signal from the noise
• 07:03 — Feeling overwhelmed by the pace of innovation
• 10:51 — How customer experience shapes business’ use of AI
• 13:38 — Andy’s entrepreneurial journey and motivation
• 18:31 — Gamification and competition in business and life
• 20:55 — Competing with oneself vs. others
• 23:38 — Book recommendations for habit and mindset
• 25:29 — The personal risk and responsibility of entrepreneurship
• 30:03 — Misconceptions about AI-driven layoffs
• 33:24 — AI’s impact on customer experience expectations
• 34:51 — Andy’s leadership role with OpenAI’s community
• 37:05 — The AI Film Festival: nurturing creative adoption of AI
• 41:46 — Leadership philosophy: transparency and kind candor
• 45:25 — Andy & Lucky Day Labs’ guiding goals
• 47:34 — Lucky Day Labs Academy: making AI accessible

Final Thoughts

This candid, practical conversation addresses the hopes, fears, and realities of deploying AI in the workplace and beyond. Andy Oliva stands out as a rare voice—blending tech savvy, empathy for workers, and a deeply humanistic approach. His contagious optimism is balanced by a clear-eyed view of both the disruptive and creative opportunities AI presents. Listeners will come away with actionable insights, a fresh perspective on leadership, and encouragement to upskill and lead with kindness as the future unfolds.

Connect with Andy Oliva

• LuckyDayLabs AI – Free consult and more
• LinkedIn: Andy O.
• Lucky Day Labs Academy – Waitlist for AI learning