Navigating the Future:                     AI and Advanced Intuition

Navigating the Future: AI and Advanced Intuition

Remember when we used to ask, “How should technology support humans at work?” Well, now with the advent of AI, we ask, “How should humans support AI at work?” Given the increasing power of these computers, will machines have the last word on our best solutions or does human intuition still have the power to influence our most important decisions?

The perception that AI is bringing either utopia or dystopia is not science fiction. According to one of the top research think tanks, 科尔尼 's Global Business Policy Council , the three critical elements most shaping our immediate future are climate change, geopolitical events and AI. Ironically, while scenarios for climate change and geopolitical factors can be explored through generative AI, the element whose impact is most challenging to predict is AI, because it provides “massive efficiencies at scale,” disrupting the marketplace and our lives “in unpredictable ways,” and is estimated to have a $10 trillion impact on our economy over the next five years.

Mustafa Suleyman , an early AI researcher and entrepreneur formerly at the helm of DeepMind, Google’s AI division, stated that his primary focus at his company, Inflection AI, is to develop a personalized AI for each person – an AI “Chief of Staff” - within the next five years.?

Based on these fast-approaching and unpredictably powerful capabilities, how can human intuition maintain its place as a trusted tool for personal and business decisions?

The answer to this question requires a deeper understanding of the nature of intuition, which is a multifaceted phenomenon deeply ingrained in human cognition, involving subconscious processing, pattern recognition, experiential knowledge, and emotional awareness.

Gerd Gigerenzer Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, calls intuition the “intelligence of the unconscious,” implying that we have unconscious access to what humans have collectively learned throughout history, just as AI learns through “observing” all the dynamic data shown to it. The human mind holographically digests information and forms unexpected pathways to original solutions. This remarkable human ability has been honed over millions of years of evolution.?

The more astonishing feats that intuition can demonstrate include abilities to foresee the future, devoid of evidence or data projections; locating lost items as well as missing people who are strangers; issuing warning to enhance safety; revealing hidden data that is critical to decision making; and connecting, clarifying, and resolving unconscious human fears that might impede progress toward desired goals or accomplishments.??

Over the past three decades, I’ve primarily focused on harnessing and employing these last two capabilities in my work that has revolved around partnering with C-Suite Executives, facilitating both personal and organizational transformation through Advanced Intuitive Insight and business innovation. Through this work, I have delineated three distinct types of intuition (outlined below).?

In one type, AI is poised to surpass human capacities, while the other two remain the exclusive domain of human intuition.

Three Types of Intuition

  • Contextual Intuition (CI):?

Contextual intuition is learned through situational awareness and practice. By example, seasoned workers have learned to problem solve through a variety of scenarios and challenges, trial and error, through which they move routinized learning to the unconscious mind and become more proficient at “predicting” outcomes. Their Contextual Intuition allows faster, immediate solutions and decision-making.

Both AI and human Contextual Intuition are strengthened through meta-cognition – the ability to integrate connections among data presented through many dynamic layers within a specific domain of learning. Now, however, tasks that rely on routine, pattern recognition, data analysis and even certain decision-making processes can be automated or significantly augmented by AI.

Without question, AI will surpass human Contextual Intuition due to its meta-cognitive capacity and speed. This has already been proven through what is considered basic AI, such as ChatGPT, which showcases AI’s ability to understand and contextualize information at a speed beyond human potential. AI is poised to revolutionize domains that have traditionally relied on learning and Contextual Intuition.?

  • Direct Intuition (DI):?

Direct Intuition operates outside the realm of specific questioning. It arises spontaneously, much like an idea that strikes during everyday activities, such as taking a shower or walking the dog – activities entirely unrelated to the idea itself. This form of intuition may also manifest as verbal instruction, such as a strong impulse not to board a train on a particular day, or as a foreboding feeling, like a sense that something bad is about to happen. It can even manifest as a mental image, such as a friend receiving a specific award.

Direct Intuition cannot be replicated by AI as a form of knowledge, insight, and guidance. Direct Intuition requires human receptivity to subtle prompts that occur in the body and through the five senses, while AI requires specific prompts, and is sourced from computer databases or programmed algorithms.?

  • Advanced Intuitive Insight (AII):?

Advanced Intuitive Insight is a deliberately practiced type of intuition and skill that constitutes a cohesive understanding that transcends empirical evidence, incorporating information beyond the reach of research or existing databases. It possesses the ability to weave together concepts from disparate sources – metaphors, imagery, narratives, or concealed data – and may even draw upon dreams or daydreams. It serves to illuminate a higher purpose or meaning. Here are three examples:

  • A CEO agreed with his team on the best candidate for a key leadership position but wrestled with a feeling that a less qualified candidate would be a better idea. While he had no data or explanation to back up his position, and felt frustrated at the irrationality of his decision, he chose the less qualified candidate. Two months later, he learned that unforeseen personal circumstances of the recommended candidate would have made him unavailable to fulfill his new position shortly after being hired and would have created chaos during the startup of a critical project. In this case, the CEO’s “gut feel” was his intuition, prompting him to act on hidden information. Soley relying on data, an AI-empowered human resource algorithm would have supported the recommended candidate, leading to a more costly hiring decision.?

  • By contrast, a talent acquisition team found a charismatic candidate with rare skills who could ably lead a significant company division. The company President, who had worked with this candidate years before in another company, had several meetings intended to approve him for hire. However, the President said he did not like him for the position (or perhaps at all), though he couldn’t put his finger on why.?

Since this was a key position, he asked me for intuitive feedback. In this case, through Advanced Intuitive Insight, I could perceive that the dynamic between the President and this candidate reminded him of someone close to him. I suggested that he seemed to be reacting to this candidate as though he were a sibling who effortlessly achieved top grades and school rank without ever needing to study, contrasting with his own hardworking efforts to earn his way to the top of his career. I sensed unresolved resentment.?

The President was taken aback. He acknowledged that he had never gotten along with his younger brother, who always seemed unprepared for everything, yet was still admired, welcomed, and achieved success with ease.??

After further conversation, the President not only approved the candidate, but went back to his brother and eventually made peace with him after many years of estrangement. In this case, Advanced Intuitive Insight was able to perceive the difference between intuition and personal bias, and the President’s personal transformation influenced the company’s success. AI algorithms would have endorsed the hiring of this candidate, but the leader may have opposed it due to unconscious reasons unrelated to the business case. AI would not have been capable of discerning this or enabling a more favorable outcome.?

  • In another instance that leveraged Advanced Intuitive Insight, a CEO informed me that her company was in the process of conducting due diligence for a potential acquisition with Company Z. She requested intuitive information regarding the compatibility and fit between the two companies.??

During a call with the CEO, I conveyed my perception that, despite the existing documentation suggesting otherwise, Company Z lacked the necessary depth or bench strength in one of the areas of operation essential to the acquisition’s success. I concluded that this gap would likely lead to substantial, unforeseen costs, and impede anticipated growth. I recommended prioritizing research efforts in that specific area. Just then, I overheard the company’s co-founder on the call in the background, remarking, “That’s strange. I’ve been feeling uneasy about this move, but I didn’t want to say anything because I couldn’t figure out why.”?

After conducting a thorough analysis, they discovered that the executive responsible for Company Z’s success in this area had departed, leaving the company with diminished interest and fewer resources to sustain growth in that domain. In fact, the year before, Company Z had redirected resources to invest in an innovation strategy for a more traditional part of their business.?

My client told me that this targeted research had saved them about three months work and about $600,000 in further due diligence. Given the documented successes in this key area, if the decision were entrusted to the capabilities of AI, it would have supported the choice to proceed with the acquisition.?

Conclusion

As the debate between AI vs. human intuition unfolds, it is crucial to acknowledge that AI will undoubtedly exceed the Contextual Intuition that humans take years to cultivate at work and in their lives. We must prepare for the AI revolution by investing in upskilling and innovating new jobs that indeed include the question: “How do humans support AI at work?”?

However, Direct Intuition and Advanced Intuitive Insight (AII) will remain distinctly human domains. Understanding this empowers us to recognize that humans can set the ethical, moral, and functional boundaries that define the extent to which we integrate AI into our lives and businesses. It also guides how we can utilize AI to enhance our world, moving closer to the utopian option for our future.

Finally, as organizations strategize on upskilling for optimal engagement with AI technology, it is equally essential to consider upskilling intuitive intelligence. Every team should have at least one voice that has upskilled from Direct Intuition to Advanced Intuitive Insight to augment the AI-supported data. Working in tandem, AI and AII are complementary tools that enable optimal solutions and decisions.

#consciouscapitalism #consciousbusiness #community #consciousleader #artificialintelligence #AI #tech #transformation #leadership


Kudzo Seneadza

Managing Director at Frontiers Healthcare Services Ltd

4 个月

Insightful article! This underscores the importance of spiritual intelligence in human endeavors.

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Dorri McWhorter

Accomplished Optimist | Socially-Conscious Business Leader Dedicated to Improving the World

1 年

AI and AII definitely need to work in tandem! Great piece!

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SD (Sudipta Das)

Founder Bixpand.ai | Empowering SMBs | Simplify Small Biz Marketing, Sales, CRM

1 年

Fascinating insights on the evolving role of AI and human intuition! As AI is moving towards shaping our future, understanding the distinctions between AI and human intuition becomes increasingly important. Great article! Dr Therese #AIInnovation #FutureTech #AdvancedIntuition #AI

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Dianne M. Michels

Founder @ Possibility Partners, LLC; Author of Rearchitecting Work: Possibility Partners Unleashing Potential . . .Creating Work Communities that inspire joy, hope, innovation, collaboration, and fun!

1 年

Fascinating, thoughtful, informative article that has me be much more enthusiastic about AI and much more appreciative and informed about intuition. Brilliant as always, Therese. So grateful for your generosity in sharing and educating.

Fanny Galus

Revenue Optimisation & Pricing Strategy Expert / Keynote Speaker & Lecturer / Integrating Intuition & Data in the Business Strategy

1 年

Absolutely spot-on, In an era where data is abundant, intuition will be the key to staying ahead of the curve

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