How to Not be Artificial

You interact with A.I. every day. And if you’re not careful, it can affect how you — an actual person— communicate. Here’s how to humanize your interactions.

A.I. is changing communication.

It’s not just changing what information you consume and how you consume it. A.I. has changed expectations for communication and, in turn, the way you interact with others. Did you know that even if you don’t use the A.I.-generated prompts in your email or text messages, those prompts influence your responses?

In general, communication has become more immediate, succinct, and positive. And that doesn’t sound bad, does it? In fact, that sounds… positive! But as Ted Chiang wrote in the New Yorker, “The task that generative A.I. has been most successful at is lowering our expectations, both of the things we read and of ourselves.”

I’m all for saying more with less. Yet, I’m also all for being real and improving human connection. Turns out, you need connection with other human beings to be physically and emotionally healthy (it’s right up there with diet and exercise!), to successfully navigate the storms of life, and to develop business-critical social skills. In short, it’s vital for you to be human with other humans. Communicating with or through A.I. doesn’t cut it.