The Empathy Gap – When AI becomes destructive
Every day I see more chatter about AI, and about how it just hasn’t fulfilled all of the promises and dreams we thought it would. This shouldn’t be a surprise. There’s always growing pains with technology, bugs to work out, misconceptions between what we want and what we get. And AI hits us in our humanity because it’s so close to being human, but so far away.
But what if it’s deeper than that? What if it’s actually eroding our humanity?
The Society for Human Resource Management has already released articles about how incivility in the workplace is at an all-time high, so this has been brewing for some time. But here’s another brick in the wall. I just read an article in the Harvard Business Review talking about how even though AI has promised us productivity gains, it’s also making the workplace empathy crises worse! And this isn’t my opinion, this is from people who research these things and publish in journals like the HBR.
People feel dehumanized and unheard, and what’s the result? Errors, rework, erosion of engagement and (you guessed it) employee attrition. Who wants to work in that kind of environment if they don’t have to? Not me – I’ve left jobs for feeling like a cog in a machine, and others do too, every day.
But let’s be real: this isn’t a tech vs. people battle. This is your opportunity knocking.
If people are leaving jobs for feeling dehumanized, where will they be looking to work? That’s right: at the places that humanize them. You can be the leader to set a new standard: machines handle the drudge tasks, but humans handle the meaning and humanity.
That puts you on the cutting edge of both leadership and technology! And, by allowing AI to do what it does best, you’re making the most of both your people and your tools!
AI isn’t a savior. It doesn’t even do human things (like empathy) very well. But it IS a powerful tool, and by bridging the empathy gap it, a leader can show what they do best – leading with strategic vision and understanding so that each party can bring their best to the task.
Don’t fall into the empathy gap. Be the leader who nimbly bridges it.
