What We Lose If We Let Efficiency Win

What We Lose If We Let Efficiency Win
A reflection on AI, creativity and protecting original thinking
by Sarah Sears

The pendulum is in full swing.

Every significant wave of technology pulls it hard in one direction, and this one, the accelerating rise of artificial intelligence, may be the biggest swing any of us have witnessed in our lifetimes. Every business leader I know is wrestling with it. Where does it fit? Is it safe? How do I use it responsibly? Good questions, right? However, there’s a deeper question I keep coming back to.

What will we lose in our organizations and communities if we are not thoughtful about how it affects the human experience?

This is the question right now. As a member of an architecture and design education advisory board, we’re carefully examining where AI can support design. Human creativity is not just a step in the process. It is the process. The exploration of ideas, the friction of constraints, the rigor of working through and learning a critical thinking skillset which comes from human experience. This is where originality comes from. There are no shortcuts to human ingenuity.

The pressure to shortcut is enormous right now.

We already see the ripple effects in communication. Because of the way AI gathers information and distills it toward the average, a homogenized sameness is spreading through email, social media, and marketing. I notice it. I suspect you do too. Have you experienced that glazed-over feeling with the vague sense that you’ve already read this before, and nothing is quite landing?

It reminds me of previous technology surges. They create a longing for tactile, human experiences. We enjoy a handwritten note and choose an in person coffee instead of a Zoom meeting. We attend more concerts and feel the music. We travel and gather. I find myself reading more and savoring a well-crafted sentence. These signals are worth paying attention to.

AI is here, and it is not going away. It is reshaping the competitive landscape across industries at an accelerating pace. It provides all kinds of opportunities and risks for nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses. There is genuine value in reimagining your organization and processes with these tools.

Be intentional about the value of human creativity and judgment. Decide what stays human. There are judgment calls that require wisdom earned over time, client relationships that require presence and sincerity. There is creative work that demands wrestling with problems and ideas. There are ideas that only surface when you allow yourself to be uncomfortable and sit with the problem. Your culture depends on people who feel genuinely seen and trusted. These things diminish with automation and generic output.

In the near future, getting this balance right will separate good organizations from great ones.