Stance · Rachel McBride

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Intelligence at the core, built around people

A stance

What I believe about AI and organisations.

AI is moving into the work of sensing, deciding and acting. The organisations that use it well will build that intelligence into how they operate, rather than adding more tools at the edge.

The human stays in command. People decide what matters, what information can be trusted, which decisions AI may help with, and what happens next. AI can increase speed and capability. It does not carry the accountability.

the Human Sandwich is the design underneath this stance: keep the record checkable, let AI work over it, and keep a person responsible for both the input and the action.

I teach this through Otago Business School and test it in real businesses. Mappa and my own operating setup are two working examples.

Publication record

Published by
Rowan Advisory
Led or authored by
Rachel McBride
Developed with
None
Form
A stance
First published
23 June 2026
Edition
v1.1, revised 18 August 2026
Rights
Quote with attribution. Do not republish in full.

Suggested citationMcBride, R. (2026) 'Intelligence at the core, built around people'. Rowan Advisory. https://ip.rowanadvisory.co.nz/intelligence-at-the-core/

As of

Last true: 18 August 2026

v1.1 · Removed the history of the wording and opened on the belief. Added the two arms, teach and prove, and linked the stance to current working examples. v1.0 · First public statement of the stance.

ip.rowanadvisory.co.nz/intelligence-at-the-core/