Strengthening authentic intelligence

It’s reasonable to extrapolate that it won’t be long before AI becomes an essential component for many of life’s norms. In most industries, leaders who choose to ignore AI will likely become obsolete very quickly, missing efficiencies and opportunities that our emerging technology can create.

But there is a tension and it’s not a new one. It’s the potential that, in our pursuit of information and efficiency, we lose wisdom, good judgment and perhaps even moral goodness. As with any tool, AI can enable both the best and the worst of what it means to be human. Over 2000 years ago, the philosopher Aristotle exhorted wisdom over information;

‘Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal and are all the greater fools for it.’ 

Excellent leaders in any age and in any field are wise, not just knowledgeable. They will primarily value authentic human qualities over artificial ones, investing in their character as well as competence, morals as well as machinery, soul as well as share price. Not-so-excellent leaders will adopt technologies to extract self-centred gain as quickly as possible, regardless of the consequences.

Building these three statements into our regular reflections might just help us to keep our authenticity, wisdom and soul in a world increasingly powered by the artificial: 

• Just because we can doesn’t mean that we should. There’s a fine line between focus and obsession. Those of us disposed more to the latter would do well to pause frequently and consider whether what we’re doing remains good, healthy, helpful and honourable. Otherwise, we risk creating a product or making a decision that, although profitable, causes far more harm than good to others.

• Embrace diversity. When efficiency takes precedent, people at the margins are always driven out. Whilst this has been the case for millennia, AI is rapidly speeding up this reality up. The utilitarian views anything and anyone who’s non-standard with suspicion. It takes additional effort and potential cost to include and embrace those who don’t easily fit societal norms (or LLMs). But without diversity, we lose much of what makes us truly human - and valuable: creativity, new perspectives and at a fundamental level, basic humanity. Choosing to penalise or worse, expel, people who take more time, more investment and more effort than the ‘norm’ sets us up for moral failure.

• Where’s the beauty? With the exception of two different design agencies, ‘beauty’ has not appeared on any board papers or executive team strategy days that I’ve been a part of. And yet, a mark of an excellent leader is that they beautify (not spoil) their workplaces and communities. It could be as simple as creating a beautiful moment in a conversation or as complex as designing a community with flow, form and vibrancy at the centre. Excellence is not about extracting the maximum output without concern for the harms, scars and toxins generated as a result.

As we embrace new technology, especially in the pursuit of efficiency, let’s not accidentally leave behind the human qualities that are truly valuable. The best leaders certainly won’t.