Why AI for Charities Should Always Start With People
3 August 2026
A Digital Dispatch by Sian Jamieson, Partnership Lead
Why the future of AI isn’t about removing people, it’s about understanding where people matter most
Every now and then you sit in a conference talk that changes the conversations you have afterwards, not just for the rest of the day. The conversations you have on the plane home. Back in the office, with your team, with your clients.
For us, at WordCamp Europe 2026, that talk was “Human in the Loop Means Something” by Tammie Lister.
And if you’ve spoken to anyone at Pooka since we got back from Krakow, there’s a good chance you’ve already heard us use that phrase, probably more than once.
Because it gave language to something we’ve always believed, technology is at its best when it helps people do what they do better. Not when it tries to remove them completely.
Who is Tammie Lister?
Tammie Lister is a product leader, designer, and long-standing contributor within the WordPress community.
Currently leading product at Convesio, Tammie works at the intersection of technology, design and user experience, exploring how we create digital tools that genuinely support the people using them.
Her work within WordPress has always focused on the human side of technology. Not simply asking: “What can we build?” But: “What experience are we creating for the person using this?”
And that distinction matters more than ever.
The human shouldn’t just approve the outcome
One of the ideas from Tammie’s talk that stayed with us was the difference between a human genuinely being “in the loop” and simply being added at the end. Because that happens a lot with technology, a system does the work and a person checks a box. Everyone says: “Great, there was human oversight.” But was there? Were they involved? Could they shape the direction? Could they bring their knowledge, experience and judgement into the process?
Because that is where the real value is, a human in the loop isn’t a final checkpoint, they are part of the collaboration.
Why this matters for the organisations we work with
At Pooka, we work with charities, cultural organisations, membership bodies and teams doing genuinely important work. And those organisations are built on relationships.
A CRM is not just a database, it is years of conversations, supporters, members, volunteers, donors and communities.
A website is not just pages and code, it is often the first interaction someone has with your organisation.
A digital strategy is not just content and analytics, it is your voice, your purpose and your connection with people.
Those things require context, and context is human.
AI can give us more time for the work that matters
This is where we think AI gets really exciting. Because we don’t see AI as replacing the creative thinking, strategy or relationships at the heart of our work. We see it as a way to protect more time for those things.
Less time fighting with repetitive processes, more time understanding audiences.
Less time staring at blank pages, more time shaping meaningful stories.
Less time wrestling with admin, more time making better decisions.
The opportunity isn’t to remove people from the work, the opportunity is to give people better tools.
A very Pooka kind of future
One of the reasons Tammie’s talk resonated so strongly is because it didn’t feel like a new direction. It felt like a clearer definition of the direction we were already travelling.
Since 2010, Pooka has believed in technology that puts people first, it’s why we choose open source, it’s why we build long-term partnerships. It’s why training, ownership and understanding have always been such an important part of what we do.
Because the best digital tools aren’t the ones that make organisations dependent, they are the ones that empower people.
AI doesn’t change that, it reinforces it.
So… what are we building next?
This conversation didn’t end when we left WordCamp, in many ways, it started there.
Since returning from WordCamp, Sian, our Partnership Lead, has been exploring what responsible, useful and genuinely human-centred AI could look like for the organisations we work with.
Especially charities, third sector teams and purpose-led organisations who are asking:
- Where do we start?
- How can we use AI safely?
- How do we save time without losing our voice?
- How do we make sure technology supports our values rather than compromises them?
We’re experimenting, we’re learning, and we’re building. And yes, we’re keeping humans firmly in the loop.
There are some exciting things coming soon. Watch this space.
Watch Tammie Lister’s WordCamp Europe 2026 talk
Some talks give you answers, others give you better questions. For us, this was definitely the second one.
If you’re thinking about AI, digital tools or the future of how humans and technology work together, we highly recommend watching Tammie Lister’s “Human in the Loop Means Something”.
It might just change the conversations you have afterwards too.
Get In Touch
We’d love to hear what you’re up to. Please get in touch using hello@pooka.co or through the form linked below. Don’t be shy!
