The Human Side Of AI: A Threat Or Opportunity?

Most people talk about AI and psychological safety like teenagers talk about sex. They claim they are outstanding and very experienced and there is not much more they could learn about the topic. That is usually extremely far from reality, although it is much easier to forgive the unfounded confidence in kids than it is to accept the incompetency of organizations’ inability to create an inclusive culture where people thrive and others strive to join.

In my previous article, we discussed the power of seeing progress and making a difference. This time, we’ll be discussing whether AI is a threat or an opportunity.

Recently, I delivered a presentation to a Fortune 200 pharmaceutical company about the human side of AI in the context of a skills gap. The talk was a roller coaster that created some truly meaningful conversation.

First of all, AI is like culture—a popular concept with very different meanings to many people, all assuming they are talking about the same thing. That is the illusion of communication we experience every day without realizing it. But that is normal. In a professional setting, it can be costly. Technically, AI stands for artificial intelligence and implies that it is made by humans to think like us. It is designed to be fast, intelligent, kind and helpful.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of Nexus, has a different, yet logical take on the definition; he refers to it as “alien” intelligence. Not in the sense of being extraterrestrial, but rather not human-like. It is not an upgraded version of how we think, but a completely different one we cannot even comprehend. He brings up an example of Go, a famous strategy game played for over 2,500 years by millions of people. Complete philosophies and business plans were created based on it by millions of smart people; there was nothing left to explore.

That is what we thought until AlphaGo AI defeated the world champion and it was revealed that humans had discovered only a tiny fraction of strategies and possibilities within the game. It did it in a matter of days; there was nothing human in it, and the same thing can happen in the fields of finance, medicine and other areas of our life.

So AI is smarter than us, but we have a superpower—empathy—right? Not so much.

Google has developed Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (AMIE), a research AI system based on an LLM and optimized for diagnostic reasoning and conversations to test if it does better than real doctors. It did. It ranked higher than human physicians across 24 of 26 conversational axes including politeness, coming across as honest, explaining the condition and treatment, and expressing care and commitment.

So AI is smarter and has better bedside manners; how can we stand out? What kind of skills should we work on?

Jobs based on information processing are ready to be replaced in most cases, but roles that require a fine combination of expertise, social skills and motor skills are much harder to change. Writing a prescription is easier than changing the bandage on a crying baby surrounded by concerned parents.

Now that we are getting closer to the solution, what should we be teaching leaders to prepare for the future? This is what Jacob Morgan asked 140 top CEOs, and his research came up with nine skills and mindsets, eight of which directly relate to how much we understand ourselves and others—in a nutshell, people skills. The ninth one was technology.

In a previous article, I shared some shocking insights about the results current people solutions are delivering as they measure skills development instead of what truly matters, the impact on the teams and the business. This is where common sense can derail progress.

Focusing on the outcome instead of the skills might lead to a better solution. Let’s say employees run to get from point A to point B. You improve their skills so they can run faster. Logical. But what is the desired outcome? Running faster or getting to the destination quicker? If the goal is the latter, then getting a bike or scooter would have a much higher ROI.

The dark side of AI is exactly where the potential lies; that is where we need to concentrate and double down.

So what should we be focusing on in order to maximize our chances of success? Let’s look at the limitations and threats of AI to the workforce:

1. It won’t develop visionary leaders who can create psychological safety and motivation in a team, but it can put more stress on team members who fall into silos and stop collaborating and innovating. Equipping leaders with the latest data-driven tools and methodologies to make team members feel valued and accepted is likely going to be one of the most sought-after qualities.

2. AI is not going to build more trust. Equipping employees with the skills and expertise to create swift trust, creativity and efficient collaboration even in a hybrid environment will likely become one of the most essential ways of attracting and engaging talent.

3. Investing in preparedness instead of trying to predict certain events is, I believe, the key to competing, co-existing and ultimately creating synergy with AI so that it becomes an asset rather than a burden. The world is changing rapidly, and the way people react to fear, greed, joy and power is unlikely to change. We all have basic psychological and physical needs we cannot ignore for too long—our sense of feeling safe, motivated, valued and understood is not optional.

Loneliness is not when we have nobody, but when nobody has us. The need for belonging, the desire to matter, is the void leaders and coaches need to fill, and that is going to be predictably the highest value current and future employees will look for.

People skills are business skills. There is no shortcut.

The article was originally published on Forbes by Csaba Toth

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