AI Just Exposed This Firm’s HR Secrets — Here’s How to Avoid It
John O’Connell was recently a guest on the Modern Financial Advisor Podcast, joining host Mike Langford to lay out where wealth management firms actually stand on AI adoption. He opens with a story that should make every compliance officer sit up: a firm turned on Microsoft Copilot, connected it to SharePoint, and assumed its HR directory was safe because employees “couldn’t see it.” It wasn’t, and employees could query Copilot directly for who was on a performance improvement plan and get an answer. From there he shares his framework for sorting firms by how they’re handling AI, from the Vanguards and Roadrunners racing ahead, to the Tasmanian Devils and Bison finding their footing, to the Ostriches hoping it all blows over. He also explains why “vibe coding” your own AI tools without a professional developer reviewing the work can open the door to SQL injection attacks and runaway costs, and why the best first AI use case is almost always the most boring task in your firm rather than the flashiest.
