Human-First AI Pulse
Current research behind building with AI without losing your humanity. Posted here weekly by Dr. Johnna.
The Identity Angle
Findings on how AI shapes the way you see yourself, and how to stay rooted in who you are.
The drive that built your business can be the thing draining it.
There's a name for what happens when you can't tell where you end and your business begins. Researchers call it identity fusion. The traits that make you good at building, the drive, the high standards, the refusal to quit, are the same ones that can wear you down. When the business is your whole identity, a bad month doesn't feel like a bad month. It feels like proof that you're failing as a person. The healthiest founders aren't the ones who care less. They're the ones who are more than their business. You are not the company you built. You're the person who built it. (Mateer, 2026)
Being seen isn't bragging. It's part of leadership.
This year, fewer women hold top leadership roles than last year. The number slipped from 34% to 32.9%. It's the first drop in years, and at this pace, women and men won't reach equal numbers at the top until 2051. The researchers say one big reason is that women's work often goes unnoticed. Here's what I'd add. You can't be seen as a leader until you believe you are one. I hear the same thing from so many capable women. They're doing great work, and somehow it stays invisible. That shift starts inside you. You claim it first. Then other people can see it. (Grant Thornton, 2026)