Alam M
1Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, Australia
Biography:
Zaidul Alam is an Enterprise Architect whose career has been built on a single conviction: technology only matters when it works for people. That belief sits at the heart of his presentation on the human side of AI adoption, and it has shaped every chapter of his professional life.
His journey began in Bangladesh, where he studied computer science at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. Curiosity and drive carried him to Adelaide, where he completed a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University. He started his career in telecommunications with Ranks Telecom Limited, then moved through roles at International Turnkey Systems and Huawei. Those early years gave him a strong foundation in software development, project management, and leadership — and an early lesson that the hardest part of any system is rarely the code. It is the people who must trust it and use it.
In 2012, Zaidul made Australia his home. He joined the South Australian government as a software engineer and gradually grew into a solutions architect. Over the next decade, he worked on major government projects that made public services more streamlined and accessible for everyday citizens. The work taught him to see technology through a human lens, designing not just for systems, but for the people on the other side of the screen, and for the trust that makes adoption possible.
In 2023, he joined CSIRO as a Solution Architect before stepping into his current role as an Enterprise Architect. Today his focus spans AIMS applications and the broader technology portfolio, where he helps shape the future direction of CSIRO's systems and capabilities. Enterprise architecture, as he practises it, is about aligning people, process, and technology — in that order — so that change is something people are carried through, not subjected to.
Teaching and mentoring have always run alongside his technical work. At Carnegie Mellon University in Adelaide, he served as a teaching assistant and advisor. Today, after hours, he teaches as a casual academic at the University of Queensland across multiple courses. He has mentored graduates on their career paths since his Adelaide days, a commitment he continues in Brisbane — helping others move past uncertainty and into confidence, much as workers must when new technology arrives.
He is equally committed to the wider community. As former National Data Lead and board member of GovHack Australia, he championed open data and collaboration, encouraging people to solve real-world problems together.
Across government, research, startups, teaching, and community work, Zaidul has followed one principle: harnessing technology to improve the way people live and work. It is a fitting foundation for a talk about why successful AI adoption begins not with machines, but with people.
Abstract:
We talk about AI as a technology problem, but it is really a human one. Across every industry, AI is changing how people work. Organisations invest heavily, yet adoption often stalls, and leaders blame the tools. The real obstacle is quieter and more human — how people feel about the change happening around them. When AI arrives, many workers feel anxious. They fear the technology is beyond them, or that it threatens their place. But this anxiety is not a real danger. It is the ordinary discomfort that comes with learning anything new. We have all felt it, like the first day in a new job or the first time behind the wheel. Seen this way, AI adoption is not a technical challenge but a human process of adaptation. This is where enterprise architecture matters, not as a technical discipline, but as a way of organising people, process, and technology around human needs. Most efforts rush to technology first. A human-centred approach begins with people. Process is the bridge that carries people through change. It starts with awareness, so the purpose is clear. Then training, to build skill and confidence. Then hackathons and experimentation, where people explore, play, and make the technology their own. Each step turns fear into curiosity, and curiosity into agency. Only then does technology serve. When people are ready, the right tools lift everyone, not just in output, but in more meaningful work. AI's success is decided in the human world, long before technology.
