ClearTech Loop: In the Know, On the Move

ClearTech Loop with Maybelyn Plecic: AI Security Is Also an Adoption Problem

June 1, 2026

Jo Peterson talks with Maybelyn Plecic of Network to Code about shadow AI, non human identities, AI defense, and why secure AI adoption depends on trust, plain language, and practical enablement.

ClearTech Loop with Maybelyn Plecic: AI Security Is Also an Adoption Problem

In this episode of ClearTech Loop, Jo Peterson sits down with Maybelyn Plecic, Manager of Training and Adoption at Network to Code, for a practical conversation about shadow AI, non human identities, and what AI defense means in real environments.

Maybelyn brings a security, compliance, training, and adoption lens to the AI conversation. She is CISSP certified, AWS certified, and has spent her career helping teams strengthen security posture, drive compliance initiatives, and make technical change usable.

That perspective shaped the episode.

AI security is not only about policies, platforms, and controls. It is also about whether people understand what is expected, whether approved tools are practical, and whether leaders make safe use easier than the workaround.

Episode Highlights

Shadow AI Is a Trust Issue

Shadow AI is often treated as a simple policy problem, but Maybelyn framed it as something broader.

It is an IT issue. It is a security issue. It is also a trust issue.

People are not always trying to create risk. Sometimes they are trying to get their jobs done faster. If leaders start with blame, people hide what they are doing. If they start with curiosity, organizations have a better chance of understanding which tools are already in use, what people are trying to accomplish, and where the real risk sits.

Maybelyn also pointed to the need for protected proof of concept environments, sandboxes, and concrete guidance people can actually follow.

The goal is not to punish people for working more efficiently. It is to create safe places to test, learn, and build before AI use becomes unmanaged by default

Non-human Identities Need Clearer Language

The conversation also moved into language, access, and everyday workflow.

Maybelyn made a strong point about terminology. If technical teams, business teams, and security teams are not using the same language, policies get misunderstood before they ever get implemented.

That becomes a bigger issue when AI systems and agents start touching data, workflows, and permissions.

The basic questions still matter. What does someone do every day? What systems do they use? What data are they moving? What access do they need? What are they trying to automate because the official process is too slow?

Those are adoption questions, but they are also security questions.

AI Defense Is Not Just a Tooling Conversation

When Jo asked Maybelyn what came to mind when she heard the term AI defense, Maybelyn did not go straight to tools.

She framed it as mindset, communication, policy, and usability.

People cannot follow rules they do not understand, and they will not follow processes that are too complicated to use. That is especially true when teams are already under pressure to move faster.

For leaders, the work is to assume good intent, understand how people are actually using AI, and create guidance that reduces risk without slowing the business to a crawl.

About Maybelyn Plecic

Maybelyn Plecic is the Manager of Training and Adoption at Network to Code.

She specializes in helping teams make technical change practical, secure, and usable. Her work spans security posture, compliance initiatives, technical enablement, training strategy, and customer adoption.

She brings a builder’s perspective to AI security, with a focus on making complex technology easier for people to understand and use responsibly.

Why this Episode Matters

AI adoption is moving faster than most organizations can govern it.

That creates tension between business teams trying to move faster, IT teams trying to support the right tools, and security teams trying to reduce risk.

This episode matters because Maybelyn does not frame that tension as a people problem. She frames it as an enablement problem.

If people do not understand the rules, they cannot follow them.

If approved tools are too hard to use, people will work around them.

If leaders do not understand how teams are actually using AI, they are governing an environment they cannot fully see.

Secure AI adoption depends on visibility, trust, shared language, and practical guidance.

Key Takeaways

AI security has to include adoption.

Shadow AI is easier to manage when leaders start with curiosity instead of blame.

Policies only work when people understand them.

Non human identities require clearer conversations about access, ownership, and data flow.

AI defense is not just about tools. It is also about training, communication, usability, and practical guidance.

The safe path has to be easier than the workaround.

Key Quotes

“how do you expect someone to be compliant if they don’t even know the rules, right?”
Maybelyn Plecic
Manager of Training and Adoption
Network to Code