We’ve taught AI to sound human, but we all need to remind ourselves to be better ones

1 day ago7 min read4 comments

We’ve taught AI to sound human, but we all need to remind ourselves to be better ones. It’s a paradox that sits at the heart of our modern workplaces and personal lives: artificial intelligence, designed to streamline our communication, is simultaneously fraying the very fabric of human connection.I’ve spoken with dozens of people for my work, from corporate leaders to young professionals just starting out, and a common thread emerges—a creeping sense of isolation amidst a sea of perfectly crafted messages. AI drafts our emails with unnerving efficiency, summarizes our meetings with cold precision, and even nudges us to step away from our desks, yet in this relentless pursuit of productivity, we’re outsourcing the nuanced dance of human interaction.People are increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT not just for drafting reports, but for deeply personal tasks like relationship advice and even makeshift therapy sessions, seeking from an algorithm the empathy and understanding that should flow from human relationships. The core issue, as one organizational psychologist I interviewed poignantly noted, is that AI can mimic empathy but cannot comprehend it; it can predict tone but remains utterly blind to genuine intent.This fundamental lack of true understanding creates a dangerous homogenization of communication. The way you console a grieving colleague should be profoundly different from how you motivate an ambitious intern, yet when we delegate these subtleties to a machine, every interaction risks becoming a generic, one-size-fits-all transaction.The data is startling and speaks to a deeper malaise: 82% of employees now report symptoms of burnout, and 85% have experienced significant workplace conflict, with the majority tracing the root cause back to miscommunication, feeling misunderstood, or simply feeling invisible in their own teams. We are polishing our words to a high gloss while our sense of shared understanding becomes increasingly tarnished.The real opportunity, then, is not to use AI as a crutch that replaces our emotional intelligence, but as a mirror that helps us reflect on and improve our own interpersonal skills. Forward-thinking teams are already experimenting with this approach, integrating frameworks like the Five-Factor Model of personality to help leaders tailor their feedback, recognizing that a direct, data-driven approach might energize one employee while completely overwhelming another.The goal for any leader, coach, or colleague should be to use these tools to help us communicate more thoughtfully with each unique individual, not to have the AI communicate for us. This requires a conscious shift in mindset—a return to giving each message, each meeting, and each moment the considered attention it deserves.Who is on the receiving end of this email? What are their core values? How do they process criticism or praise? The leaders who are thriving in this new environment are those who understand that leadership happens in the unscripted spaces algorithms can never access: the pregnant pause in a difficult conversation, the subtle tension after a missed deadline, the telling silence that signals someone does not feel psychologically safe to speak up. A recent study from the Wharton School and GBK Collective underscores this, warning that 43% of leaders are concerned about 'skill atrophy' as automation takes over routine communicative tasks.When we lose our sensitivity to these human cues, collaboration devolves into mere coordination; teams continue to exchange information, but they stop truly connecting, and that is the fertile ground where misunderstandings quietly multiply into full-blown conflict and disengagement. To navigate this, we must be intentional.Before approving an AI-generated message, we must pause and ask: Does this sound authentically like me? Does it truly address what this specific person needs to hear right now? Sometimes, a two-minute phone call or a hastily typed, genuine message will foster a deeper connection than the most elegantly structured paragraph. Use AI for preparation—to organize your thoughts and data—but you must always be the one to deliver the message, infusing it with the person’s history, their current emotional state, and the unique context of your relationship.And crucially, the work doesn’t end when you hit 'send'; the follow-up, the check-in to ensure the message was received as intended, is where the relationship is either fortified or weakened. Ultimately, our progress and collective well-being hinge not on how fast we can communicate, but on the quality of the relationships we nurture. The leaders who will truly succeed are those who leverage technology not to talk more, but to listen more deeply, to understand more fully, and to communicate with a renewed respect for the beautiful, complicated individuality of every single person they engage with.

#AI communication

#human connection

#emotional intelligence

#workplace burnout

#leadership

#featured

Stay Informed. Act Smarter.

Get weekly highlights, major headlines, and expert insights — then put your knowledge to work in our live prediction markets.

Comments

Loading comments...