What does it really take to change behaviour — not just at the individual level, but across entire systems?

In this episode of Wired for Change, Amy Yee sits down with Pauline Kabitsis to explore how behavioural science is being applied in global public health — and why its full potential is still largely untapped.

From field work with the World Food Programme in Africa to youth-focused initiatives with UNICEF in El Salvador, Pauline shares practical examples of how behavioural insights can shift outcomes in complex environments.

But this conversation goes further.

We explore what’s changing (and not changing) in behavioural science, where it fits inside policy and systems design, and how leaders can move beyond awareness to execution. Along the way, we connect behavioural science to user experience, governance, and the realities of public sector transformation.

If you care about public health, policy innovation, human-centred design, or building systems that actually work for people — this episode is for you.

00:00 – Introduction: Why Behaviour Shapes Systems
03:45 – What Is Behavioural Science (And What It Isn’t)
09:10 – What’s Changing in the Field Today
16:30 – Unlocking Behavioural Science in Public Health
24:50 – Case Study: Work with the World Food Programme in Africa
34:40 – Case Study: Supporting Youth with UNICEF in El Salvador
45:20 – Systems, Policy & Human-Centred Design
53:10 – Pauline’s Work Today & Where the Field Is Headed
58:30 – Final Reflections: Designing for Real Change

Chapters

Canada has the potential to lead in medical AI—but leadership won’t be decided by technology alone.

In this episode of Wired for Change, Amy Yee sits down with Dr. Khaled El Emam to explore what it will really take to move medical AI from promise to practice. Drawing on real-world deployments in Canadian healthcare, they unpack why talent, data, and urgency—not hype—are now the deciding factors.

This conversation covers:

• Where medical AI is already delivering real impact

• Why deployment lags behind technical capability

• How trust, transparency, and responsible data use enable scale

• What Canada risks by moving too slowly—and what it gains by acting now

Grounded, pragmatic, and optimistic, this episode is about leadership, legitimacy, and why the window to act is open—but narrowing.

Find out more about OMARI: https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-medicine/research-and-innovation/ottawa-medical-ai-research-institute-overview

Find out more about Amy Yee:

www.amyeyee.com

Chapters:

00:00 – Why medical AI feels urgent right now

02:05 – AI isn’t new, but the moment has changed

04:50 – Where medical AI is already in use

07:45 – System efficiency and clinician burden

10:15 – Why healthcare innovation is hard to deploy

12:30 – Competitiveness, dependency, and local models

15:05 – Moving from analysis to action

17:40 – Data access as opportunity and constraint

20:10 – Canadian examples of AI in practice

24:05 – AI scribes and clinician sustainability

26:45 – Patient-facing tools and informed decisions

29:40 – Risks of generic AI tools

31:50 – What enables successful deployment

34:30 – Who pays for medical AI?

36:45 – Why stories and trust matter

39:10 – Public legitimacy and social license

42:00 – Talent as a competitive advantage

45:15 – Multidisciplinary leadership and optimism

48:50 – Entrepreneurship and real-world impact

53:10 – IP, innovation, and staying ahead

57:40 – Competing without the biggest budget

01:01:50 – Compute, regulation, and urgency

01:06:10 – Practical privacy and de-identification

01:11:40 – Toward national standards

01:15:30 – What’s driving optimism

01:19:00 – Closing reflections

Watch this two-minute preview of Wired For Change podcast episode 38: When Tech Stopped Being "Safe".

Host Amy Yee is joined by Cate Huston, author of The Engineering Leader, for a thoughtful conversation about how engineering leadership is changing — and what that means for careers, teams, and judgment in today’s tech landscape.