hum[ai]n works with leaders and business owners from defining the problem AI should solve, through to full adoption and team capability.
We build the clarity, confidence, and cultural permission that turn AI investment into real results. Everything is guided by the hum[ai]n Compass, five conditions for adoption, with culture running through all of them.
Kate joined Ellen Fanning on 612 ABC Brisbane to talk about what AI actually is, how Australian businesses can start using it practically, and why access to AI tools isn't the same as knowing how to use them well.
More on Insights →The hum[ai]n Compass guides every engagement. Where you start depends on your situation.
Uneven adoption. Low confidence. Tools sitting idle.
Learn More →No tools yet, or already have tools but realise you jumped the gun.
Learn More →Build skills first. Decide next steps later.
Learn More →Every engagement starts with a conversation. We’ll assess where you’re at and what needs to happen next, whatever stage you’re working from.
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The Integration Gap: Why AI Adoption Lags Behind AI Access
Why hum[ai]n
hum[ai]n is not a technology vendor. We give leadership teams and founders the framework, the language, and the discipline to make AI decisions that hold up over time. Tools come and go. The thinking that decides between them is what lasts.
Kate Russell is the Founder and Principal of hum[ai]n. She has spent 18 years at the intersection of people, culture, and organisational change, across marketing, PR, sales and people and culture, including six-plus years at lululemon, the Australian Fashion Council, and serving as CMO and then CEO of The Square Wave Group.
Kate has been thinking about the human side of AI adoption for longer than it has been a business priority. hum[ai]n was her first venture. She stepped away to lead The Square Wave Group, and returned when the conditions were right.
hum[ai]n is backed by a small group of experienced advisors who bring deep expertise across a range of fields. They are practitioners, not consultants. People with active careers who know what good looks like from the inside.
“We engaged Kate to support us to build AI capability in our corporate sustainability team, not a theory-focused overview, but practical skills our people could apply immediately. Kate delivered exactly that. In three hours, the team moved from a mixed capability AI skillset to applying these tools strategically: how to research smarter, how to prompt with intention, and how to develop briefs for AI assistants tailored to our work.
What stood out was how well Kate understood our context. The session was built around our tools, our team diagnostic results, and our priorities: it didn’t feel generic. Our team left with practical tools, a clear personal learning commitment and a scoped brief ready to work through with our tech team.”
“I was very deliberate about the kind of AI expert I wanted in the room. My clients are senior hospitality professionals, not tech people, and I needed someone who could meet them where they were. That search led me to Kate. She delivered a genuinely engaging, practically grounded session that had a room full of commercially sharp, experienced professionals leaning in. She read the room beautifully, made complex ideas feel immediately accessible, and left people feeling excited rather than overwhelmed. If you are looking for someone to help your organisation navigate AI in a way that actually brings people with it, Kate Russell is the person I would call.”
“Every governance framework I’d looked at before this felt built for a business ten times our size, all risk controls and no practicality. What hum[ai]n gave us was four rules we could actually use, sized to where Emcorp is now, not where a template assumes we should be. And it didn’t stop at governance. We walked out with the full AI path, from where we actually stand today with AI through to who owns what in week one, month one and quarter one. Most engagements give you a diagnosis but hum[ai]n gave us education, directions and a map.”
If any of this sounds like where your organisation is sitting, a conversation is the right first step. A straight conversation about what's happening and whether we're a good fit.
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