AI and Human Connection
I write in AI and the New Oz about the concept of Collective Intelligence I borrowed from an essay written by fellow fractional CAiO L. Roen Prowe of Snowy Creek Advisory where he wrote about the convergence of intelligent systems – man and machine, culture and platform. Collective Intelligence reflects the man-machine collaboration we're experiencing, and the HUMANITY needed for success. I’m a fan – especially of the humanity part.
Carole Robin – author of “Connect” and famed Stanford business school professor who taught about relationships – has encouraged me to include more about relationships in Oz. Part of the resistance we’re seeing in the current AI adoption cycle is that people fear the loss of relationships as AI puts our minds more into the “process” and less into the “people.”
She’s right – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Engaging is a choice – and I’m suggesting we all be more diligent in using these technologies to enable connection. We can choose for automation to free up personal time to spend with the people we enjoy. We can choose for tools to become a path to reach new and different people. Collective intelligence (with AI) gives us more choice, more freedom, and more options. It’s a mindset.
As much as people are wary of losing human touch, AI can expand it. I’ve been away on an Airstream trip with a 27” monitor on my dinette table and have spent hours every day on the Oz launch details. AI won’t take us farther from each other; if we let it, it brings us closer. Examples from the last 48 hours in the Sierras (with only internet and Bella, my Airstream):
❤️ I demo’d ChatGPT at my kitchen table to a 75yo RV-towing grandmother. We built a game plan for buying a fancy RV, converted that plan to a magazine article, then converted that to the voice of Jane Austen – all in ChatGPT. She wants to write her family story, and now she has a collaboration tool.
🐶 A thought leader agreed to include his AI service delivery model in Oz. He shared yesterday that he’d been slow to respond because a beloved pet has taken an unexpected turn. These things matter. Many of us are remote, but that doesn’t mean we’re alone.
🏕️ A young couple who were tent-camping (visiting parents with the Airstream rally) are ready to buy their first home. The grandmother in the demo, her neighbor down the street is about to list a home in an area they’re interested in. Guess who I’m about to connect?
Technology connects humans, when humans connect with it.
#BellaWork #AIandOz
