Latest field note
The Trust the Auto-Approve Spent
When a credit agent clears the path and the room signs because the light is green, the withdrawal is already on the books.
November 8, 2026·3 min·Trust as capital
Read the field noteEthical AI Leadership
Field Notes from the Human Side.
Short notes for the people who still have to answer once a system has already sounded sure. One decision, named to a person, and one thing to do this week.
By Dr. Sarah Dyson.
Archive
From the journal
Governance that fits in a week
Faculty Must Shape AI Adoption
A department can hold a license and a training deadline and still have no academic decision about the tool.
November 6, 2026·4 min read
adhd-neurodivergent-scaffolding
The Score That Treats the Scaffold as Speed
When Microsoft 365 Copilot closes an executive-function gap for neurodivergent staff, a review that only counts output speed still scores the design as the person's deficit.
November 4, 2026·3 min read
Human overhead of agents
The Hours the Score Did Not Count
When an agent finishes the page, the hours spent making it usable still sit outside the productivity number.
November 1, 2026·3 min read
Status / SCARF under AI
The Status the Instant Draft Spent
When a fluent agent finishes the page before the person has finished the thought, the pause starts to read as lower status.
October 29, 2026·3 min read
ADHD / neurodivergent scaffolding
The Ramp the Average Missed
When a Copilot pilot showed no average productivity gain, the signal that mattered sat with the people for whom ordinary work already had a higher curb.
October 26, 2026·4 min read
Explainability as a leadership skill
Explainability as the Translation a Non-Technical Leader Stands Behind
Non-technical leaders must stand behind opaque model dashboards by providing translation when metrics rule the room. Explainability is the leadership skill that protects trust and sustains team attachment.
October 26, 2026·4 min read·New
Decision Toolkit
Four pillars. Five questions. The person still answers.
The Toolkit is the pause you take before a system starts to sound like a colleague. It sits beside these field notes; it is not a summary of them.
Open the Toolkit01
Human moral agency
The person remains the one who can be asked why. Systems execute; leaders answer.
02
Psychological safety
Status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness are the first things a new system spends.
03
Fairness beyond data
Opportunity, voice, and social signaling matter as much as the confusion matrix.
04
Trust as capital
Trust is deposited, withdrawn, and called. Treat it like a balance sheet, not a vibe.
EI Leadership Insights
Notes by email, twice a month.
One practice you can use the week it arrives. No model news. No hype.