Perspectives and Predictions: Looking Back at 2025 and Forward to 2026

Helen Edwards and Dave Edwards are in awe of AI and passionate about course correcting to preserve human authorship and ensure AI systems are for, not from, people.  Kimberly, Dave and Helen discuss human authorship; AI as a cultural technology; generative AI as a cognitive tool; biological imperatives and cultural as a countervailing force; cognitive pairing; metacognition and why perception matters most; diverse intelligences; precautionary design principles; AI as a co-evolutionary factor; human finitude; changing AI’s course; creating minds for our minds; designing for the unknown; kindness and hopeful rebellion. Helen Edwards and Dave Edwards are the co-founders of the Artificiality Institute, a nonprofit organization shaping the future human experience of AI. Their longitudinal research program The Chronicle tracks how people actually experience AI in their work and lives. Additional Resources: Staying Human: Authoring Your Mind in the Age of AI (digital book): https://journal.artificialityinstitute.org/tag/book-two/  The SaaS Apocalypse Is A Category Error (article): https://journal.artificialityinstitute.org/the-saas-apocalypse-is-a-category-error/  A transcript of this episode is here.

Afua Bruce explains that public interest tech is about solving complicated problems with real impact for real people, not just fuzzy feelings and philanthropy.      Afua and Kimberly discuss misconceptions about Public Interest Tech (PIT); PIT beyond philanthropy; why tech for good isn’t always; purposeful productivity; “solving” non-profits; tech funding traps; PIT design principles; cross-sector career paths; participatory (vacation) design; the messy middle; focusing on impact; responsible investment; and knowing we still have time. Afua Bruce is the founder and CEO of ANB Advisory Group. An author and leading public interest technologist, Afua works with philanthropic institutions, tech companies, and nonprofits to develop and use responsible technology. Additional Resources:The Tech That Comes Next (book):  https://thetechthatcomesnext.com/  Dr. Catherine Nakalembe Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_nakalembe_why_can_t_we_better_prepare_for_extreme_weather Humane Intelligence (non-profit): https://humane-intelligence.org/ A transcript of this episode is here.

Seth Rabinowitz uses AI with intent by studiously prioritizing learning, actively resisting dependency, promoting ethical practices, and seeing people in the data.    Seth and Kimberly discuss his shift from fearing AI to fearing (some) people using AI; expertise and critical thinking; how different cohorts use AI; resisting dependency and intentional use; the role of educators; developing soft skills; not confusing AI’s learning with your own; stewarding AI; business ethics and data privacy; prioritizing AI fundamentals and putting people first.Seth Rabinowitz is pursuing a Master’s degree in Data Science and Business Analytics at UNC Charlotte. A transcript of this episode is here.   

Taka Ariga hits all the right notes for AI at scale: clarity of purpose, strong foundations, sustainable innovation, engaged ownership, and a confident workforce.    Taka and Kimberly discuss going beyond novel AI prototypes; the limits of automation; context building; data sovereignty and integrity; the unstructured data deluge; the unique sensitivities and needs of public agencies; valuing ownership and viable ways to scale; plagiarizing for good; foundations for AI success; wanting innovation without change; rethinking governance; enabling confident AI use; making space for reinvention; and being a skeptical AI advocate.Taka Ariga is a heretical technologist and the founder of Sol Imagination. He focuses on AI strategy design, implementation, and value capture. Taka served the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as CDO and CAIO and the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) as Chief Data Scientist and Director of the Innovation Lab. Related Resources:Sol Imagination (company)                  https://sol-imagination.ai/  A transcript of this episode is here.   

Theodora Lau banks on AI becoming our financial GPS and OS but flags required waypoints to protect consumer data rights, maintain trust and close the digital divide.Theo and Kimberly discuss the progression toward a financial GPS powered by AI; consumer data rights and trust; the billion dollar question for 2026; analog identify verification; reducing risk and improving the customer experience; valuing people above transactions; the widening digital divide; upskilling and reskilling; cultivating curiosity and reclaiming time; financial security as the foundation for health; agentic commerce and AI as the financial OS; and always being human.Theodora Lau is the Founder of Unconventional Ventures. A prolific speaker, author and advisor, Theo is an American Banker’s Top 20 Influential Women in FinTech. Recognizing that health and financial security are innately entwined, Theo works to spark innovation in the public and private sectors to meet the needs of underrepresented consumers. Related Resources:Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book)One Vision Podcast (RSS feed)Unconventional Ventures (company)A transcript of this episode is here.

Gretchen Stewart knows she doesn’t know it all, always asks why, challenges oversimplified AI stories, champions multi-disciplinary teams and doubles down on data.   Gretchen and Kimberly discuss conflating GenAI with AI, data as the underpinning for all things AI, workflow engineering, AI as a team sport, organizational and data siloes, programming as a valued skill, agentic AI and workforce reductions, the complexity inherent in an interconnected world, data volume vs. quality, backsliding on governance, not knowing it all and diversity as a force multiplier.Gretchen Stewart is a Principal Engineer at Intel. She serves as the Chief Data Scientist for the public sector and is a member of the enterprise HPC and AI architecture team. A self-professed human to geek translator, Gretchen was recently nominated as a Top 100 Data and AI Leader by OnConferences. A transcript of this episode is here.   

Dr. Chris Marshall analyzes AI from all angles including market dynamics, geopolitical concerns, workforce impacts, and what staying the course with agentic AI requires.Chris and Kimberly discuss his journey from theoretical physics to analytic philosophy, AI as an economic and geopolitical concern, the rise of sovereign AI, scale economies, market bubbles and expectation gaps, the AI value horizon, why agentic AI is harder than GenAI, calibrating risk and justifying trust, expertise and the workforce, not overlooking Rodney Dangerfield, foundational elements for success, betting on AIOps, and acting in teams.     Dr. Chris L Marshall is a Vice President at IDC Asia/Pacific with responsibility for industry insights, data, analytics and AI. A former partner and executive at companies such as IBM, KPMG, Oracle, FIS, and UBS, Chris’s mission is to translate innovative technologies into industry insights and business value for the digital economy.Related ResourcesData and AI Impact Report: The Trust Imperative (IDC Research)A transcript of this episode is here.

A retrospective sampling of ideas and questions our illustrious guests gifted us in 2025 alongside some glad and not so glad tidings (ok, predictions) for AI in 2026.In this episode we revisit insights from our guests and, perhaps, introduce those you may have missed along the way. Select guests provide sparky takes on what may happen in 2026.Host Note: I desperately wanted to use the work prognostication in reference to the latter segment. But although the word sounds cool it implies a level of mysticism entirely out of keeping with the informed opinions these guests have proffered. So, predictions it is.A transcript of this episode is here.   

Masheika Allgood delineates good AI from GenAI, outlines the environmental imprint of hyperscale data centers, and emphasizes AI success depends on the why and data.  Masheika and Kimberly discuss her path from law to AI; AI as an embodied infrastructure; forms of beneficial AI; if the GenAI math maths; narratives underpinning AI; the physical imprint of hyperscale data centers; the fallacy of closed loop cooling; who pays for electrical capacity; enabling community dialogue; starting with why in AI product design; AI as a data infrastructure play; staying positive and finding the thing you can do.  Masheika Allgood is an AI Ethicist and Founder of AllAI Consulting. She is a well-known advocate for sustainable AI development and contributor to the IEEE P7100 Standard for Measurement of Environmental Impacts of Artificial Intelligence Systems. Related Resources Taps Run Dry Initiative (Website) Data Center Advocacy Toolkit (Website) Eat Your Frog (Substack) AI Data Governance, Compliance, and Auditing for Developers (LinkedIn Learning) A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age (Referenced Book) A transcript of this episode is here.

Kati Walcott differentiates simulated will from genuine intent, data sharing from data surrender, and agents from agency in a quest to ensure digital sovereignty for all.Kati and Kimberly discuss her journey from molecular genetics to AI engineering; the evolution of an intention economy built on simulated will; the provider ecosystem and monetization as a motive; capturing genuine intent; non-benign aspects of personalization; how a single bad data point can be a health hazard; the 3 styles of digital data; data sharing vs. data surrender; whether digital society represents reality; restoring authorship over our digital selves; pivoting from convenience to governance; why AI is only accountable when your will is enforced; and the urgent need to disrupt feudal economics in AI. Kati Walcott is the Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Synovient. With over 120 international patents, Kati is a visionary tech inventor, author and leader focused on digital representation, rights and citizenship in the Digital Data Economy.Related ResourcesThe False Intention Economy: How AI Systems are Replacing Human Will with Modeled Behavior (LinkedIn Article)A transcript of this episode is here.