A Human-Centered AI Predictions for 2026 and Beyond
What Most Predictions Miss and What Actually Changes for SMBs and Individuals
I have had a few people requesting my view on where we are going this year. Most AI predictions that I am reading for 2026 focus on:
Models
Tools
Features
Speed
We’re not ignoring those.
We’re saying they’re not the deciding factor.
The real shifts are happening in human behavior:
Trust erosion
The return of presence
Judgment over execution
Sensemaking over certainty
Leadership discomfort as old leadership models fail
With that lens, here are the core predictions we believe matter most for SMBs and individuals.
Prediction 1: Digital Trust Will Continue to Erode and In-Person Presence Will Become a Strategic Advantage
In 2026, people will no longer assume what they see online is real.
This includes:
Content
Credentials
Testimonials
“Expertise”
As AI-generated media becomes indistinguishable from human-created content, digital proof loses weight.
What replaces it:
Physical presence
Real-time conversation
Being witnessed by others
Reputation within a known community
Dedicated media places like Substack or Medium. Trust isn’t in the platform but rather in how it is used and who the author is.
What this means:
In-person communities gain value, not nostalgia
Smaller, trusted networks outperform large, anonymous audiences
Credibility shifts from “online visibility” to “offline experience.” You still need to be visible online, but finding opportunities to meet in person will be important as well.
This is not a marketing trend. It’s a trust correction.
And it’s a major reason communities like CincyAI matter more in year three than year one. In our community, we often hear of business partnerships being created, client opportunities happening and job opportunities as they all get to know each other from meeting in person.
For businesses, this means rethinking where you build relationships, how you establish credibility, and where your teams show up to create real connections.
Prediction 2: AI Advantage Shifts From Tool Adoption to Orchestration
This year, AI fatigue and hype frustration set in.
Not because AI doesn’t work but because:
Too many tools exist
Workflows are fragmented
Responsibility is unclear
Leaders are overwhelmed by siloed outputs
The winners will not be those with the most AI.
They’ll be the ones who orchestrate it best.
Orchestration becomes essential:
Coordinating humans, tools, and agents
Routing work and decisions
Enforcing guardrails
Creating traceability and trust
What Orchestration Changes
Orchestration means:
One AI can ask another AI for help
AIs can hand work off to each other
Context doesn’t reset every time
Work moves forward without you babysitting it
Instead of tools, you get a system.
A Simple Analogy
Old Way:
Siloed AI tools are like individual contractors who don’t talk to each other.
You:
Explain the project 5 times
Translate between them
Chase updates
Fix handoff mistakes
Orchestration AI:
AI tools become a well-run team.
One handles research and drafting
One handles analysis
One checks for risks or errors
They coordinate before you ever see the output. You become the leader, not the messenger.
The question isn’t “How many AI tools do we have?” It’s “How well do our systems and people work together?”
For SMBs:
This is a quiet superpower.
SMBs won’t build massive AI platforms.
They’ll design clean flows:
Orchestration between the AIs from drafts, monitoring and executing → human owns decisions, reviews and outcomes
Prediction 3: Judgment Becomes More Valuable Than Execution
AI makes execution cheap. Judgment becomes scarce.
This year:
“How work gets done” matters less
“Deciding what matters” becomes everything
This affects:
Hiring
Promotions
Leadership credibility
Career longevity
Individuals who thrive:
Can interpret AI output
Can say “this looks right” or “this feels off.” Last mile knowledge is important.
Can explain decisions to others
Can slow things down when speed is dangerous
Individuals who struggle:
Only execute without questioning
Only prompt without refinement
Only follow systems without understanding them
AI doesn’t eliminate work. It exposes where thinking was missing.
Your competitive advantage is increasingly the quality of human judgment in your organization, not the speed of your outputs.
Prediction 4: The Real Barrier to AI Adoption Will Be Unlearning, Not Skill
Most organizations will not fail at AI because they lack tools.
They’ll fail because they refuse to let go of:
Busywork as identity
Control as safety
Certainty as leadership
Time-based productivity
Unlearning is emotional work.
It threatens:
Status
Expertise
How people have been rewarded for years
That’s why resistance looks like:
Dismissal (“this is hype”)
Overuse (“let AI do everything”)
Paralysis (“we’ll wait and see”)
Companies and communities that create safe spaces for unlearning will outperform those that just train harder.
Prediction 5: Leadership Moves From Control to Clarity
AI removes the illusion that leaders must have answers.
Strong leadership looks like:
Asking better questions
Naming uncertainty
Creating clarity without controlling and micromanaging
Leaders now manage:
Humans and AIs
Systems that learn and adapt
Emotional load of teams navigating constant change
This requires:
Emotional intelligence as a leadership skill, not a soft add-on
Sensemaking — helping teams interpret what matters and what doesn’t
Clear boundaries around pace, expectations, and AI use
Trust-building through consistency, presence, and follow-through
Leadership doesn’t get easier.
It gets more honest and more human.
Prediction 6: Community Becomes Infrastructure, Not an Add-On
This is the connective tissue of all the predictions above.
As trust erodes online…
As orchestration replaces individual effort…
As unlearning becomes necessary…
As leadership navigating AI feels lonelier…
Community fills the gap that technology creates.
Not content communities.
Not audience communities.
But:
Thinking communities
Sensemaking communities
Relationship-based communities
This is why in-person matters.
This is why CincyAI exists.
This is why year three is not about growth for growth’s sake, it’s about depth, trust, and shared learning.
Prediction 7: The Workforce Shift From Full-Time to Fractional Is a Strategic Opportunity
This year and beyond, we’re seeing a significant workforce shift:
Layoffs accelerating the move to independent work
Companies increasingly hiring fractional roles instead of full-time positions
The traditional employment model fragmenting
This is not a cost-cutting failure. This is a strategic opportunity.
Here’s why: When you combine fractional talent with your team, you can go further faster, you can access specialized judgment and expertise precisely when you need it without the overhead of traditional full-time structures.
What This Means for Businesses:
Look forward, not backward:
Audit your workforce mix, where are you going, not where you’ve been?
Consider how you integrate fractional talent effectively
Build systems that don’t require institutional knowledge to live in one person’s head
Knowledge retention becomes critical:
When work is more distributed, documentation and systems matter more
AI can assist in the capture and transfer of knowledge
Community and connection points become infrastructure, not perks
Think capability, not headcount:
The question shifts from “How many people do we need?” to “What capabilities do we need, and when?”
Fractional talent and your team can deliver outcomes that previously required large teams
What This Means for Individuals:
For people moving into independent work, this shift is scary but if you reframe it, it can be liberating.
The hard part: You lose the built-in structure, belonging, and camaraderie that comes with corporate employment. Independent workers often feel lonely.
This is why community becomes critical. Places where you can process, learn, and stay connected to others navigating the same shift.
What to Do Now
As you plan your AI strategy and workforce approach for 2026:
Rethink where trust is built — Online presence matters; real relationships matter more
Design for orchestration, not accumulation — Stop collecting tools; start connecting systems
Invest in judgment, not just execution — The people who can say “this feels off” are your competitive advantage
Create space for unlearning — Resistance isn’t a training problem; it’s an emotional one
Lead with honesty, not certainty — Your team needs sensemaking, not false confidence
View fractional work as strategic — Plan your workforce mix for capability, not headcount
Build community as infrastructure — This is how everything else holds together
The businesses that thrive won’t be the ones with the most AI.
They’ll be the ones who understand that AI accelerates everything—including the need for human judgment, trust, and connection.
I would love your feedback and thoughts on these predictions of what we are seeing.
Downloadable Resources for You
For the last three years, leaders have asked me for the assessments, templates, and planning guides we use in our AI sessions. So I pulled together the most requested resources and made them super affordable for small businesses and nonprofits because everyone deserves access to practical, approachable AI.
Inside you’ll find:
AI planning playbook for 2026, 11 pages
Policy templates (2 templates)
Adoption assessment reviewing 16 categories
AI leadership insights (lessons from 160+ sessions, 12 pages, including an assessment)
ChatGPT modes, connectors and shortcuts
Or a bundle to get them all.
If you’ve been wanting a simple starting point or something to help your team move faster, this is for you.
Take a look: https://payhip.com/AISimplified
Would love your feedback on what to add next.
2026 AI Adventures
February
February 10 CincyAI 3-5 at UC Digital Futures. Free in person event. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1941154267669?aff=oddtdtcreator
We also just announced our private digital community of CincyAI Champions:
For $25/month or $250/year ($50 off!), access our paid member portal with:
• CincyAI Human Huddle interest groups
• Limited time only: “CincyAI Founding Champion” Badge
• CincyAI Champions Member Directory
• Monthly Office Hours with Helen & Kendra — first one is next week! Bring your AI questions each month.
• Cincinnati Area AI Job Board
• CincyAI & Community Partners Events Calendar
• CincyAI Champion Matchups
• And more!
Limited time only: 30 days free trial as we’re seeding the community — join now to get your Founding CincyAI Champion member badge!!
March
March 23 9-12 EST online Intro to AI session. Tech Cred reimbursed. https://maxtrain.com/artificial-intelligence/general-artificial-intelligence-and-business-applications/introduction-to-ai/
I love answering your AI questions. Feel free to message me.
Where AI and inspiration collide!
Kendra Ramirez
KendraRamirez.com
We provide AI Speaking and Training, AI Readiness, AI Strategy, Workflow Automation, and Implementation (co creating Copilot Agents or ChatGPT GPTs with you). Our clients love that we sit side by side with them in our human centered approach to AI.
**For those new to my work, I have been in tech my whole career. Over 15 years of running my digital agency (website, social media, and lead generation) and 7 years of helping businesses navigate AI. Over the past two and a half years and, I’ve had the privilege of leading over 160 training and speaking sessions, empowering businesses to embrace the transformative potential of AI. My passion lies in simplifying complex technologies to help organizations grow, innovate, and thrive.
I am so excited that you are on this journey with me! Thank you! 🤗
I have been writing weekly about AI here for over two and a half years. You can search all of my enewsletters here if you are looking to brush up on a certain topic. kendratech.substack.com