As part of our membership with CyberNorth - a North East UK-based organisation that connects and supports the regional cyber, AI, data, and quantum community, fostering collaboration, innovation, and skills development - Russell Goodenough, Head of AI for CGI in the UK and Australia, shared his perspectives on responsible AI adoption, the limits of technology-led transformation and why resilience may matter more than proficiency with any particular AI tool.

Read the full article ‘Spotlight on CGI: The human edge in an AI world’, by CyberNorth’s Emily Perella.

Conversations about artificial intelligence often focus on which model is fastest, most capable or most efficient. Russell Goodenough, Head of AI for CGI in the UK and Australia, argues that this emphasis risks obscuring a more consequential question: are organisations preparing their people to exercise sound judgement when using the technology?

As CGI marks its 50th year, Goodenough reflects that technologies may change rapidly, but the human challenges surrounding organisational change remain strikingly consistent.

“The tech itself has changed beyond recognition, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that humans still need care and attention around change management.”

This principle sits at the heart of CGI’s approach to AI: using technology to extend professional capability while preserving human judgement and accountability.  A philosophy recognised by OpenAI in its recent Trusted Enterprise Deployment Award.

A grassroots revolution

CGI’s approach to AI adoption and innovation was not based solely on a top-down directive. Instead, it was driven by a decentralised, grassroots model. While some organisations force AI onto a workforce that may not yet feel ready to embrace the change, CGI focused on creating an environment where AI practitioners and team members encouraged their peers to experiment and embrace change.

"We picked people who were innovative pioneers. We focused on proactive and progressive people and encouraged them to duplicate good AI practice."

This created a rapidly expanding network of forward-thinking innovators who used AI to improve their work. Rather than prescribing a single way of working, CGI encouraged responsible experimentation, reflection and peer-to-peer learning.

The approach raises a broader question for organisations adopting AI: does meaningful change come from mandating a tool, or from giving people the confidence and responsibility to discover where it is genuinely useful?

For CGI, AI became a tool for empowerment. Peer-to-peer sharing allowed professionals to grow together, avoiding the "pilot paralysis" that often stalls AI initiatives, and upholding Goodenough’s belief that some of the most valuable innovations are born from experimentation in the workforce, not instruction from the boardroom.

Becoming "Client Zero"

Before advising clients on AI adoption, CGI first applied the technology within its own organisation. This “Client Zero” approach allowed the company to encounter governance, adoption and workflow challenges directly rather than treating clients as test environments.

"We learn the hard lessons in-house so that we’re not learning them on our client's time. Clients aren't paying us to learn lessons. We've already learned them.”

This internal experience has informed CGI’s work with clients. It also provides a useful test of credibility: organisations offering AI advice should be able to demonstrate not only what the technology can do, but what they have learned from using it themselves.

Accountability in an autonomous world

As AI autonomy grows, so does the "trust gap."

AI systems are becoming increasingly capable of performing more tasks with less direct intervention. The distance between an action and the person responsible for it can grow, placing more importance on understanding appropriate AI use. Goodenough believes in a firm principle: the AI suggests, but the human decides.

"Our consultants remain accountable for all their output," Goodenough clarified. He compares responsible AI use with learning to ride a bicycle. Understanding the brakes and wearing safety equipment matter, but the rider must still control the bicycle and take responsibility for how it is used.

The analogy points to a challenge that extends beyond CGI. If an AI-assisted decision causes harm, produces inaccurate work or reinforces a flawed assumption, who is answerable? Saying that “the AI did it” cannot become a substitute for professional accountability.

CGI’s human-centred approach therefore stresses the importance of embedding human oversight in every process, within the work itself. While AI may accelerate work, speed does not remove the need for the experience, critical thinking and professional responsibility that drive CGI’s work.

The resilience mindset

As we look toward the next few years of AI advancement, Goodenough was cautious about making bold five-year forecasts. The most important factor determining a future-ready business is not a specific insight, but rather a "resilience mindset."

“We face a tsunami of change brought about through AI, but with new models and capabilities emerging every few weeks, the specific feature you learn today may be obsolete tomorrow. The question is: how do you become resilient to successive waves of change?”

For the next generation of AI and cyber talent, he suggested that the most valuable trait isn't technical proficiency; it's an inquisitive, entrepreneurial spirit that embraces constant learning.

Amplifying potential: The human-AI partnership

Organisations face a choice: they can pursue AI because competitors are doing so, or they can begin by asking which problems genuinely warrant its use.

The strongest AI strategies may not be those that automate the most work. They may be those that make deliberate decisions about where AI adds value, where human judgement must prevail and who remains accountable for the outcome.

The defining question is therefore not simply what AI will allow organisations to do. It is what people should continue to decide for themselves.

Learn more about how CGI drives trusted outcomes through human centric AI, or reach out to our AI experts for more information.