AI is changing everything, but the real crisis is trust, and leaders are not measuring the human cost.

In this 2026 episode of Product for Humans, Christa Hill goes deep with Katrina German, one of Canada’s clearest voices on ethical digital leadership.

They start with what sparked Katrina’s recent media coverage: AI-enabled harassment and the rise of synthetic sexualized imagery used to silence women online. From there, the conversation zooms out to a bigger question: how did we go from early internet guardrails to today’s “terms of service as consent” reality, and what does that mean for Canadians trying to lead through platform power, misinformation, and fragile digital infrastructure?

Then they shift to the human side. Katrina names the thing many leaders feel but cannot articulate: technostress. They talk boundaries, organizational clarity, and why leaders in 2026 have one job above all else: rebuilding trust.

They wrap with a fast, fun “Smash or Pass” round on AI self-regulation, unenforced principles, and the myth that we are “too early” to govern.

• Why AI-generated sexualized imagery is being used to silence women online, and why platforms cannot shrug it off as “user responsibility”
• The media problem: whose voices get airtime, and what it costs when expert women get clipped to one sentence
• A practical solution for journalists and experts: Informed Perspectives, a network that helps match media with expert women
• Regulation memory loss: what Canadians already regulated well (and why we stopped pushing for the same accountability in social platforms)
• Platform power vs public interest: why commercial incentives are not the same as societal stewardship
• Canada’s opportunity moment: and why “building our own” is back on the table
• The human cost of constant change: technostress, burnout signals, and what leaders are asking people to carry
• What leaders must prioritize in 2026: trust as a strategic pillar, not a brand value
• Smash or Pass lightning round: self-regulation, terms of service, “responsible AI” without enforcement, and leadership literacy

Katrina German is the Founder and CEO of Ethical Digital. Her work focuses on ethical digital leadership, trust, and helping organizations build human-centered digital strategy with real accountability.

https://www.katrinagerman.com/

https://www.ethicaldigital.ca/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinagerman/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context of the Conversation

07:27 The Mess We Built: Regulation and Technology

26:00 The Human Cost of Not Measuring

26:58 Navigating Emotional Responses in a Digital World

28:29 The Importance of Self-Care in Tech

30:19 Understanding Techno Stress and Burnout

32:35 Strategies for Managing Tech Overload

36:49 The Future of AI: Integration or Opt-Out?

39:13 Building Trust in the Age of Technology

44:14 The Role of Ethics in AI Development

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In this energizing mid-year check-in, Christa and Renée dive into the accelerating pace of AI and why 2025 is the year to stop watching from the sidelines. From Canada’s shockingly low AI adoption stats to what it really means to build AI-first businesses, they break down the urgency for leaders, teams, and individuals to level up—fast.

💡 They cover:

• What “AI-first” means (and why “AI-last” is a risk)
• Why technical literacy is the new leadership currency
• The myth of AI replacing humans—and what’s actually happening in real companies
• Real-world use cases built for less than $5 (!)
• How strategic people (not just technical folks) are leading the AI charge

Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or already in the mix, this is your moment to get in the game.

🔥 It’s not just an AI moment. It’s a movement.

👉 Join us online for a free Hands on "Zero to One AI" lesson you can do over your lunch break: Sign Up Here

👉 Register for our next AI Business Leader webinar: Sign Up Here

Hosted by: Renee Matsalla & Christa Hill

Tacit Edge:

• Website: tacit-edge.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/tacitedge
• Instagram: instagram.com/tacit.edge
• YouTube: youtube.com/@TacitEdge

Find Christa Hill on social:

• Instagram: instagram.com/christa.hill.ai/
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christajhill/

Send us a text

Tired of pretending you're doing discovery when really, you're just guessing? In this episode, we step into The Product Experiment Garage with Chantal Botana and Maurice McGinley for a real talk on what discovery actually means — and why it’s so often misunderstood.

This isn’t about running a full-blown design sprint on day one. It's about finding the next right step in your product practice — and doing it in a low-stakes environment where you can observe, experiment, and learn.

💡 You’ll hear:

• Why “Discovery Theatre” is holding your team back
• How to challenge assumptions with users, not in a vacuum
• The value of practicing product outside your daily work
• A better way to onboard your team into true discovery habits

Product is a practice. It’s a team sport. And you don’t need permission to get better at your job — just a garage, some guidance, and a willingness to try.

Want to try this for yourself? Sign up for a session here:
https://product-garage.eventbrite.com

Want to connect with Chantal and Maurice:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-evangelist/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpath/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbotana/

Hosted by: Renee Matsalla & Christa Hill

Tacit Edge:

• Website: tacit-edge.com
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/tacitedge
• Instagram: instagram.com/tacit.edge
• YouTube: youtube.com/@TacitEdge

Find Christa Hill on social:

• Instagram: instagram.com/christa.hill.ai/
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christajhill/