Zadie Walker

I'm the founder and CEO of ALCHM, a human-centered AI company building what we call "reflection technology," AI designed to help people hear themselves more clearly rather than think for them.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly woven into everyday life, I believe one of the biggest questions isn't what AI will become, but what humanity chooses to preserve. My work explores how technology can strengthen judgment, memory, reflection, agency, and trust instead of replacing them.

ALCHM combines private journaling with Khepera, a thoughtfully bounded AI reflection system designed to witness rather than advise. We intentionally avoid coaching, diagnosing, engagement loops, emotional scoring, and using journal entries to train AI models. Every product decision begins with a simple question:

Does this strengthen human agency?

Before founding ALCHM, I became fascinated by the gap between insight and lasting transformation. Whether insight comes through therapy, leadership, creativity, relationships, grief, or everyday life, it rarely changes us on its own. Reflection and integration are what make insight meaningful. That's the space ALCHM was created to support.

I enjoy conversations about AI, entrepreneurship, product philosophy, ethical technology, startup building, digital trust, personal knowledge management, creativity, and designing products that respect human autonomy. I love discussing the future we're building with AI; and the values worth carrying into it.