13 March 2026

The rise of AI-generated communication underlines the need to embrace the human traits that truly connect us… qualities that bring richness and diversity to the way we think, work and live.

It’s no revelation to suggest that artificial intelligence and everything it represents makes for the most significant shift of the modern age, certainly as an extension of the technology and information revolution. Indeed, it’s hard to avoid a conversation, in whatever setting, that doesn’t probe its very real merits, the opportunities it presents, and the challenges it creates.

To say that the possibilities around artificial intelligence are profound is an understatement, and we’re only getting started.

From disinformation’s threat to information integrity, to the unmatched capacity for scale and efficiency, there’s inevitably a need to consider what artificial intelligence is doing, and is capable of doing, for and to our everyday lives.

While the reach and impact of artificial intelligence can barely keep up with itself, the fundamentals of human interaction in all of its manifestations remain, well, inherently human. In fact, celebrating our natural imperfections – the flaws and foibles that define the way we connect – is as important as embracing the transformative power of artificial intelligence.

It’s what sets us apart as people and what nourishes societies, fuelled by a diversity of ideas, and values and thinking. 

When we choose to think of our own volition, it brings to the fore a perspective that’s uniquely ours, based on the most primal of traits: judgement, instinct, ethics, imagination and emotional intelligence.

By their nature, none of these necessarily lead to universal agreement nor societal harmony. Indeed, often, they’re cause for conflict.

And, that’s the point. They’re the antidote to homogeneity. That when we speak, we know it’s real based on our experiences and our way of thinking – complete with perspective, nuance and our inherent biases.

For all that artificial intelligence can do, it can’t (yet) reach into the realm of what it is to be you.  

It can’t carry responsibility. It does not feel consequence. And, it does not have a conscience. Nor, can it account for fluidity or ambiguity. It can’t reason or determine the inherent risks involved in complex decision-making involving social, political or cultural nuances. Relying on algorithms assumes decisions are black and white, when often they’re anything but binary.  

This is not to discourage the use of artificial intelligence. Quite the opposite.

We should seek to harness its power while deliberately and consciously employing the traits that have underpinned humanity’s evolution over millennia.

They don’t reside in how-to manuals, nor in the far reaches of next-gen technology. They exist in our everyday – sometimes flawed, always fluid, less-than-perfect – lives.

Actual intelligence, some might call it.