AI Is Not a Bubble — It’s a Leadership Test | Karen Olsson

AI is everywhere — but leadership hasn’t always caught up.

In this episode of Canada Now, host Ashley Smith is joined by Karen Olsson, tech entrepreneur, fractional CEO, and principal at Atomic47, for a grounded conversation about what the AI moment actually demands of leaders — beyond hype, tools, and experimentation.

Karen brings a rare, on-the-ground perspective from working with organizations across highly regulated and operationally complex sectors, including healthcare, energy, and government. Together, they unpack why AI isn’t a speculative bubble, but an operational shift already reshaping how work gets done — and why governance, adoption, and leadership matter just as much as the technology itself.

This conversation explores:

• Why AI should be viewed as infrastructure, not novelty
• How organizations can “lose the tedium” without losing people
• What responsible AI governance looks like in practice — not theory
• Why leadership alignment matters more than pilots and point solutions
• Canada’s opportunity to lead through adoption, sovereignty, and trust
• How founders, workers, and executives can prepare for what’s next

Rather than focusing on flashy use cases, this episode centers on the unsexy — but essential — questions that determine whether AI actually creates value: accountability, data integrity, decision-making, and human judgment.

If you’re a founder, executive, board member, policymaker, or operator trying to make sense of AI in a real-world context, this episode is for you.

🔗 Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Atomic47 Labs
• Karen Olsson’s Substack
• Innovation Governance Program (Council of Canadian Innovators)
• Canadian AI Sovereignty & Innovation Cluster

(all links available in show notes - coming soon, see Canada Now to subscribe)

Love the show? Help it grow!
→ Subscribe, Review, and Share 🍁

Follow Canada Now for bold ideas and real conversations shaping what’s next in Canada. 🇨🇦
→ All Links (including socials)
→ YouTube
→ Canada Now Newsletter (subscriber perks coming soon!)

Meet the host, Ashley Smith! 🙋‍♀️
→ Ashley's links (social, website, + more)