I think we're entering a new era of AI. Not a new model. Not a new headline. A new mood. For the last few years, we've been stuck in what I'd call the promise economy : AI is going to change everything, fix everything, scale everything. But there's a shift happening now: what some folks are calling the "Realism" era. According to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, we're moving from "Look what AI could do" to "Show me what AI actually does in real life" (Stanford

There are two AI conversations happening at the same time, and they don't always touch. One is about power : who controls the models, the chips, the cloud, the data, the distribution. The other is about people : who is using these systems, at what age, in what cognitive and emotional stage, with what vulnerability. If you want a phrase for the first conversation, it's something like AI Domination : a concentration of infrastructure and influence in a small set of companies. 

Most organizations believe they’re doing AI ethics. They’ve checked the boxes, signed the policies, updated the handbook. But compliance isn’t the same as flourishing—and the gap between them is where safety, trust, and long-term performance live. If you’re a CXO, a school leader, or a services director, you’ve probably asked: Are we doing enough? The answer depends on where you sit on The Human Impact Ladder : a five-stage journey from “meets the minimum” to “helps people t

Most AI systems are designed for a phantom user: neurotypical, non-disabled, and resilient to cognitive overload. The rest of us? We’re expected to adapt, or drop out. Here’s the problem: this is the Missing Level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs—what it takes to thrive in a sensory-laden, distracting, anxiety and fatigue-producing world. Not just survive. Not just comply. Thrive. Most AI systems--including yours--are using the wrong model. It’s not just inefficient; it’s une

Last week, I watched our daughter Phoebe solve a coding problem using ChatGPT. She'd ask a question, get an answer, implement it, hit an error, ask again. The loop took seconds. Watching her work, I realized something unsettling: the machine was operating at its speed, not hers. And that's the quiet crisis nobody's talking about. The Speed Mismatch We're Not Discussing Here's the uncomfortable truth: AI capabilities are doubling every seven months while human cognition has

I’m writing this first as a parent. Our daughter, Phoebe, is 23. She’s autistic, ADHD, and epileptic. Our family has done the whole tour: diagnoses, therapies, ER visits, and two craniotomies. So when I say “sensory load” isn’t a buzzword, I mean it in the most literal, nervous-system way possible. Now zoom out to work. You have invested millions in AI-powered tools to boost productivity. Your dashboards are sleek. Your notifications are instant. Your analytics are real-time.

I am a parent first. Our daughter, Phoebe, is 23. She is autistic, ADHD, and epileptic. We have done the long stretch of diagnoses, therapies, school meetings, and the kind of ER visits that erase your sense of time. She has also survived two craniotomies. When you have lived that, the words “trust,” “safety,” and “accountability” stop being abstract nouns. They become the whole point. So when I hear leaders talk about “ethical AI” like it is a compliance chore, I have a hard

As a parent, I do not think about wearables in abstracts. I think about the nights my wife of 31 years (Suzy Girard at https://tenderwildfires.substack.com/ ) and my daughter spent in the ER. I think about our daughter, now 23, living with autism, ADHD, and epilepsy—and what it means to build tools that reduce harm before a hard day turns into a medical crisis. A decade ago, wearables mostly meant one thing: steps. Maybe a heart rate graph if you were feeling fancy. Now the s

Imagine walking into a grocery store. The fluorescent lights hum and flicker overhead. A dozen conversations blend into a wall of noise. The air conditioning creates a constant low drone. For many people, this is just... Tuesday. But for neurodivergent individuals: especially autistic adults: this sensory cocktail can trigger overwhelming distress, cognitive fatigue, and a desperate need to escape. This is the reality of sensory sensitivity. And it is one of the most underadd

I’m writing this as a parent first. Our daughter Phoebe is 23 and autistic, ADHD, and epileptic. We’ve done the rounds you never want to do: diagnoses, therapies, ER visits, and two craniotomies. When your kid’s brain is the battleground, you get very serious, very fast, about what helps attention, what steals it, and what quietly drains a person’s ability to cope. We have all felt it. That heavy, foggy feeling after hours of video calls. The inability to concentrate after sc

My wife of 31 years (Suzy Girard at https://tenderwildfires.substack.com/ ) and my daughter have taught me something no whitepaper ever could: the line between “helpful” and “harmful” is often invisible until you’ve lived it. Our daughter, Phoebe, is 23 and lives with autism, ADHD, and epilepsy. We’ve done the ER visits, the long nights, the waiting rooms, the two craniotomies. So when I look at mental health wearables, I don’t just see sensors and dashboards. I see a promise

I’m writing this as a parent first. Our daughter Phoebe is 23. She’s autistic, ADHD, and has epilepsy. We’ve done the full tour: diagnoses, therapies, ER visits, and two craniotomies. So when I say “distraction” isn’t just annoying, I mean it can be dangerous. Let’s be honest: most of the technology we use every day wasn’t designed to help us focus. It was designed to capture our attention and keep it hostage. From infinite scroll feeds to notification bombardment, modern AI

I’m writing this as a parent first. Our daughter is 23. She’s autistic, ADHD, and epileptic. We’ve done the diagnosis maze, the therapies, the long ER visits that blur into morning, and two craniotomies that changed how I think about “support” forever. When you’ve lived that reality, the workplace question stops being abstract. It becomes simple: will this environment help someone thrive, or quietly grind them down? We’ve spent this series talking about sensory sensitivity, a

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about AI governance: most organizations are getting it wrong. They’re getting it wrong in ways that cost money. They’re getting it wrong in ways that create legal exposure. And they’re getting it wrong in ways that undermine the very innovation they’re trying to achieve. The numbers don’t lie. Despite massive investments in artificial intelligence, only 5% of companies successfully scale their AI projects (Fountaine et al., 2019). That’s a stagg

Here’s a question that keeps executives up at night: Why do most AI projects fail? It’s not because the technology doesn’t work. It’s because the people don’t use it. But here’s my ‘why’ behind human-centered AI: it’s not just a business decision. For me, it’s a personal mission. I am a parent first. Our daughter Phoebe is 23. She’s autistic, has ADHD, and lives with epilepsy. She’s also brilliant. And the difference between ‘traditional’ and ‘human-centered’ tech isn’t ac

As a parent first, this stuff doesn't feel abstract to me. Our daughter, Phoebe, is 23. She's autistic, has ADHD, and lives with epilepsy. We've done the diagnoses, the therapies, the ER visits, the long nights, the two craniotomies. So when I say “AI policy,” I’m not thinking about headlines. I’m thinking about real systems that make real decisions about real lives (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2023). Let me be blunt with you. If you're still asking whethe

Wearables are everywhere. They count steps, score sleep, flag stress, promise peace. But I’m going to lead with the part that matters most to me: I’m a parent first. Our daughter, Phoebe (23), is autistic, has ADHD, and lives with epilepsy. I’ve been in the ER with her after seizures. I’ve watched her do the long, exhausting work of recovering from two craniotomies. In those moments, you don’t want tech that simply tracks; you want tech that helps. Not a dashboard that dazzle

I want to start somewhere personal: I am a parent first. Our daughter Phoebe is 23. She is autistic, has ADHD, and epilepsy. I have lost count of the ER visits, the hospital corridors, the waiting-room minutes that feel like hours. And I have watched her fight through more than anyone should have to, including two craniotomies. That reality rewires your priorities. It also rewires your lens on something as “normal” as an office. Now, zoom out with me for a second. Think of yo

I’m a doctor and a scientist, but I’m a parent first. Here’s the question that keeps me up at night: Are we building AI systems that serve people, or are we reshaping people to serve AI systems? For me, that isn’t an abstract debate. It’s personal. Our daughter Phoebe is 23. She’s autistic, has ADHD, and lives with epilepsy. I’ve watched her endure every therapy imaginable, countless ER visits for seizures, and two craniotomies. When your family has lived inside hospital corr

Figure 1. The neuroscience of focus: why your team is fatigued (and how AI can help). Before I say a word about meetings, AI, or productivity, I want to start where I always start: at home. Our daughter, Phoebe, is 23. She’s autistic, has ADHD, and lives with epilepsy. We’ve done the full circuit: evaluations, therapies, long nights, ER visits that turn into hospital stays, and two craniotomies that rewire your definition of “tired” forever. So when I say “fatigue,” I don’t m