AI: Artificial Intangibles

AI has certainly been at the center of many conversations recently. And, while there's no denying it's power, the coolness factor, or the innumerable possibilities, it's at least worth considering the real cost of AI in an organization – not in dollars and cents, per se, but in humanity.

Now, this isn't a “Skynet is coming, welcome in the robot overlords” doom and gloom type of article - AI is here to stay, that much is certain. Also, I'm a technologist, visionary, and have built my career on the premise that what currently isn't possible can be. AI represents a brand-new frontier, and that is exciting and exhilarating and wonderful. The world is full of systems and decisions that AI can make faster and more robust. All of this has been clearly highlighted by the explosion of AI software. There's Auto-GPT, Chat-GPT, Rezi, Perplexity, Midjourney, and countless others. The landscape is rich and varied, and there is absolutely a competitive advantage to be gained for the organization that effectively leverages the technology.

What isn't clear to me, though, is the effect AI has (or will have) on the human condition over time, simply because there hasn't been enough time to even approach qualifying it. We also aren't entirely certain, societally, about what the qualifying criteria actually?are. It's an interesting question to ponder as we evaluate the presence of AI in a service-driven economy.

Every few weeks at my organization, like most, there is a new employee orientation class. I often go speak to these new hires about the nature of our institution, what makes us different, etc. Standard stuff. But a few days ago, someone dared to ask a bold question: "What do you see the role of AI becoming as it pertains to the human staff?" The interesting premise, though, was that this question wasn't asked out of the fear of being replaced by a computer or robot, but rather out of a genuine concern that service - and the desire to provide it with excellence - might be diminished by a machine that doesn't have the capacity to feel. It was an intriguing question, because it intersects the realms of service, ethics, technology, and operations. There is a myriad of questions that surface just by exploring these areas, including:

1. What is the appropriate tradeoff between efficiency and personal touch?
2. What is the impact to staff morale? To headcount?
3. How does a person feel when they interact with an AI? And then, consequentially, how does that interaction with a machine impact service scoring (NPS, etc.)?
4. What happens if (or when) an AI determines someone might get better service elsewhere?

These and thousands of other questions quickly boil into a veritable sea of uncertainty because what we're really talking about here is emotional intelligence, or more accurately, the perceived lack of it. The uniquely human ability to emote, empathize, and respond accordingly is the one of the foundational elements of both culture and service. They form the “soul” of what we do. Without them, we are reduced to if/then-esque equations. We lose the capacity to care. No one strives for that. But that’s not why AI exists. Not really.

AI exists because humans operate out of bias. The emotional construct of the human psyche lends itself to emotional reactions. It also, with uncanny accuracy, identifies our weaknesses, and one of the things humans suck at is being purely objective, especially when under any kind of stress (not that this ever happens at work). Whether conscious or not, justified or not, prejudiced or not, all humans operate at some level out of bias. Now, we often label it differently - experience, wisdom, history, etc. - but at the end of the day it's a method we use internally to check our decision making, like some sort of failsafe in our brain. And because of that, bias has probably been historically responsible for more disparate treatment, outcomes, and decisions than any other human process. It's our default, no matter how much we may try to minimize it, and it's how we operate at our most basic levels. So much so, that there are volumes of legislation designed to combat bias, all, at some level, necessary, and all, at some level, shifting bias to another side of the equation, but never removing it completely. As humans, we bear the constant responsibility of ensuring that bias doesn't adversely or dramatically alter how we speak, act, live and breathe. It's a lot to carry.?

AI carries no such burden. AI is purely objective, purely logical, purely factual. That's the benefit. And the problem. Just as a world operating purely out of bias is doomed to fail, a world operating without empathy is equally volatile. There are intangibles and nuance that enter into the interactions between a consumer and business that are simply too esoteric and foreign for an AI to parse. It would be like asking a bird to paint like Rembrandt - not only is there no way to communicate, but there’s also not even a common frame of reference to start with. In other words, when two humans interact, there is already a common baseline experience - both are emotional beings with a range of emotive experience. Both, whether known to them or not, are masters of non-verbal communication. Both are operating from with same basic needs (food, shelter, etc.). Both want to feel safe. It's those intangibles that make us human - the need and desire to form emotional connections with other people. There is a uniqueness to every interaction with another person. No two people can have exactly the same conversation twice. There will always be other factors – how one person is feeling, environmental distractions, time of day, the words used, the tone of voice, the list is infinite – that change the dynamic. Yet, there remains a genuineness that comes from personal interaction, and it forms the basis for how we feel.

AI can't understand these intangibles. Imagine talking to an AI grief counselor. Or an AI hospice nurse. Or an AI therapist. Now certainly, given enough programming, time, and learning, an AI could answer every possible question or deal with every possible scenario - but it could never care about you. It could never identify with you. It could never feel what you feel because it's been there too. Think of all the qualities you want to describe your service model – goodness, kindness, patience. AI can’t parse these qualities. At best, it will only simulate them. It can only connect to you, not with you. AI is, after all, artificial.

In my opinion, this is not a binary equation. The choice is not human?or?AI. It's both. Together. In sync. AI is really all about finding balance. It’s somewhat of a new balance, to be sure, but not one we’re entirely unfamiliar with in our organizations. There was a time when accounting used pencil and paper, not spreadsheets. There was a time when emails were paper memorandums and sending a message to a remote office meant using a fax machine. Technology has always moved business forward, and properly applied, technology?is?the key to breaking barriers. The process, however, must be working first - if the process is broken, adding AI will only break the same things faster – but when it’s right, it has the potential to revolutionize a business.

I work in banking, and the implications of AI for real business problems are vast and varied; there’s literally a world of possibility in front of us. From lending to analytics to automation, it’s an incredibly exciting time and we should absolutely be leaning into that world. We should also remember that there’s a person on the other end of the chat, text, or phone call. They want to be seen, heard, and understood. We owe that to them.

A wise teacher once advised me that Cliff’s Notes were constructive as a supplement and destructive as a substitute. That’s what AI is. Used in conjunction with all the intangibles of human communication, it can create entirely new echelons of success and greatness – and in many cases already has. AI will continue to become more and more advanced, and with that advancement will come the temptation to substitute. And while there may be cases where that is relevant, even justifiable, companies should be cognizant of what they may be giving up culturally.?

AI is a game changer, to be sure - I used Craiyon to generate the cover image for this article. It's amazing. Organizations looking for a competitive advantage should explore and embrace the possibilities it offers. We’re standing on the precipice of unbelievable breakthrough. We should just make sure we don’t lose our soul along the way.