Human Centered AI for Everyday Life

Hello and welcome to 2026 from me. As I’ve eased into this year, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about what I want life to feel like and how tools like human centered AI for everyday life can support that, rather than run the show.

December was busy in all the good ways. Family birthdays, Christmas, all the kids home, plenty of connection, food, cricket and time together. It was a really lovely stretch, but it was only after New Year, once the festivities had finished and the house went quiet, that I felt myself properly slow down and relax.

Sitting on the couch watching the Ashes, lingering on the deck in the evenings, enjoying the summer warmth and not needing to be anywhere in particular. That was the pause I didn’t realise I’d been waiting for.

Easing into 2026, not sprinting into it

Those quiet weeks at home were bliss. Then, very slowly, I stepped back towards my computer and some work.

One of the first things I did was host the live co-creation session for the Bucket List Board experience, which felt like such a gentle way to return. I sat with my own workbook and took time to reflect on how 2025 had felt, what I was ready to leave behind, and what I wanted to carry forward into this year.

It felt less like leaping into action and more like setting a course.

As part of that process, I landed on my word for 2026: Expand.

The only thing I’m not interested in expanding is my waistline, which had quite enough attention over the holidays. Everything else, though, feels ripe for it. Expanding my self-belief, my confidence, my knowledge, my impact, my reach, my connection with others.

When I choose a word for the year, it’s never just about the dictionary definition. It’s about what that word means to me and how it can become a practical guide. A touchstone I can come back to and ask, “Does this choice, this yes, this direction align with how I want to expand this year?”

My word for the year: Expand

For me, “Expand” is not about more hustle or busier calendars. It’s about quietly stretching the edges of what I believe is possible in this chapter.

I’m thinking about expanding into:

• Deeper self-belief and self-trust
• More courage to share my voice and work
• Learning and experimenting in new spaces
• Wider impact and reach, without losing the grounded, human feel that matters so much to me

It’s a reminder to say yes with intention and to notice where I might be shrinking myself out of habit or old stories rather than genuine choice.

Human-centred AI for everyday life

Alongside this, something that has been quietly exciting me is exploring how human centered AI for everyday life can support us in thoughtful, values-led ways.

I saw a post from Elsa Mitchell, a Perth-based business coach I adore, where she shared that she’d uploaded her vision board into ChatGPT and asked it to analyse it and create affirmations for her. Very Elsa-style, full of spice and spirit. That got me curious.

When I played with it myself, I was intentional about how I approached it. I didn’t want AI to tell me what my board meant. I wanted to start with my own reflections first.

I described the “buckets” I’d filled, the feelings I wanted to prioritise, my word for the year and the life I was hoping to create. Only once I’d done that did I ask one of the large language models (LLMs) to help me look at it all with fresh eyes.

From there, I asked it to:

• Help me interpret the board a little more deeply
• Generate some vision statements that felt like a natural extension of what I’d shared
• Create a weekly prompt for each week of the year ahead

The results were actually beautiful. I now have 52 gentle nudges I can lean on through the year to help me stay connected to my intentions, without needing to reinvent the wheel every Sunday night.

Where I draw the line with AI

For me, that’s the sweet spot.

Using tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini as support, not as the starting point or the answer for everything. Letting my values, wisdom and lived experience lead, and allowing the technology to play a genuinely helpful, assistant-style role rather than taking over.

I’m not interested in AI that replaces our voice or dulls our creativity or our humanity. I am interested in human centered AI for everyday life that:

• Lightens the mental load a little
• Helps us put words around what we already know to be true
• Gives us small, practical prompts so the important things don’t get lost in the rush

I’ll be sharing more as I keep exploring this space because I think there is real potential when we approach it with curiosity, good boundaries and a strong sense of self.

Finding your rhythm, wherever you are in the year

As this year unfolds, I’m very aware that January looks different for everyone. Some people are easing back slowly. Others are juggling school holidays, work and logistics.

Here in Australia, we’re still in that long summer stretch. My family in South Africa, though, have just sent kids back to school, including my nephew starting boarding school for the first time. I’ve been thinking of those mums a lot. Big feelings all round.

For those of us with young adults, there’s a different juggle. Encouraging them back into routines while they are still enjoying the freedom of uni holidays. This week felt like a milestone at our place, with my husband overseas and all three kids heading off to full days of work. Suddenly the house was quiet again and I found myself rediscovering my own rhythm too.

Wherever you find yourself right now, I hope 2026 is meeting you gently. Whether you’re moving slowly, diving in headfirst or somewhere in between.

I’m really grateful you’re here and part of this community, and I’m looking forward to sharing more reflections, ideas and conversations as the year unfolds.

Over to you: The good, the bad or the ugly?

If you have a moment, I’d genuinely love to hear how AI is showing up for you.

Have you used one of the LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini yet? Are they “the good, the bad or the ugly” for you so far?