Rewiring Risk

Beyond Automation: The Rise of AI in EHS

Episode Summary

Dr. Julia Penfield, Chief AI Officer at VelocityEHS, joins host Ashley Emery, Chief Marketing Officer at VelocityEHS, on this episode of Rewiring Risk to unpack where artificial intelligence is genuinely transforming environmental health and safety, and where it's just noise.

Episode Notes

What does it actually take to separate AI hype from AI that saves lives? Dr. Julia Penfield, Chief AI Officer at VelocityEHS, joins host Ashley Emery, Chief Marketing Officer at VelocityEHS, on this episode of Rewiring Risk to unpack where artificial intelligence is genuinely transforming environmental health and safety, and where it's just noise.

Julia breaks down the difference between AI, machine learning, neural networks, LLMs, and agents in plain English, then turns to the data: the rate of workplace fatalities in the US has stayed flat for over 20 years, and a worker dies from unsafe conditions every two hours. She explains why she believes it's “amoral not to use AI for worker safety,” and walks through where AI is already making a measurable difference, from job safety assessments to industrial ergonomics to post-incident root cause analysis. Julia also makes the case for why safety AI can't be built the same way as ChatGPT or Gemini, why VelocityEHS has spent 10 years building its own proprietary models, and why humans stay firmly in the loop no matter how capable the technology gets. They close with a rapid-fire round on AI myths, what AI will never replace, and Julia's own path from a hydroelectric powerhouse in northern British Columbia to leading AI strategy in EHS.

Quotes

“Every two hours, a worker is dying from worker safety conditions in the US. It hasn't been going down. We haven't been making progress... I believe it's amoral to not use AI for worker safety.”

“Safety is, ‘Hey, I have this person that I love. Can you help them be safe when they're going to do this job?’ ...in safety, we can't tolerate bad advice.”

“I don't think AI is going to, at any point, impact the necessity to have EHS professionals and safety managers... We're gonna need EHS professionals one way or the other forever.”

Time Stamps

• [00:43] Welcome to Rewiring Risk & Introducing Dr. Julia Penfield
• [02:03] Demystifying AI: LLMs, Neural Networks, and Agents Explained
• [07:25] Does AI Have a Specific Place in EHS?
• [08:09] The Data Behind the Crisis: 20 Years of Flat Fatality Rates
• [10:43] Root Causes of Persistent Injuries and Why AI Is a Moral Imperative
• [15:09] Where AI Moves the Needle: Job Safety Assessments, Ergonomics, and Root Cause Analysis
• [22:22] From Hype to Reality: 10 Years of AI at VelocityEHS
• [25:05] Why Safety AI Can't Be Built Like ChatGPT or Gemini
• [32:14] Where AI Ends and the EHS Professional Begins
• [34:30] Breaking the Quality-vs-Efficiency Trade-Off
• [36:20] Debunking the Sustainability Myth: Not All AI Is Resource-Hungry
• [42:01] Worker Safety vs. Sustainability: Which Wins?
• [43:22] AI Readiness: The Questions Executives Should Ask Vendors
• [47:04] Dr. Julia's Origin Story: From a Hydro Dam Powerhouse to AI in EHS
• [53:03] Rapid Fire: AI Myths, What It Won't Replace, and the Road to 2030
• [55:46] Closing Thoughts and Outro

Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

• Dr. Julia Penfield, Chief AI Officer at VelocityEHS
• Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS

Learn more about:

• VelocityEHS