The Human Advantage
Why in a world of artificial intelligence, your humanity is your greatest competitive advantage.
The more artificial our intelligence becomes, the more human we need to be.
I’m not here to debate whether we should embrace AI - that ship sailed decades ago. Remember T9 on your old Nokia? That was AI. Airplanes have relied on autopilot systems longer than most of us have been in the workforce. What’s new isn’t AI itself; it’s generative AI and the large language models that now dominate headlines and boardrooms.
My position remains unchanged: you have no choice but to embrace this technology across every facet of life, because it’s not going anywhere.
An HVAC tradesman recently came to our home to install some fixtures. When he asked which industry I was in and I told him, he laughed and said no AI could ever take his place. He’s right about his own job, but his comment highlighted a stark truth: for any work that is repetitive, analytical, or predictive in nature? AI can handle it, often better than we can.
But there’s one thing it cannot replace - genuine human connection.
An Uber driver picked me up at the airport recently. Just as I settled in for the drive, he said, “You look tired. You must have been on a long flight. I hope this helps.”
He handed me a premium-looking bottle of water. Wow.
Of course I was tired, but my energy bounced back immediately and I got into a conversation with him. Was this an Uber thing? He smiled and said no, it was him. He mostly picked people up at the airport, noticed how tired they looked, and simply had the idea of stocking his car with water.
I was genuinely touched. That’s real empathy. The kind that comes from observing people and caring for them, not because an algorithm prompts it. This isn’t about manufactured sentiment or data-driven engagement. It’s about the irreplaceable human angle that defines meaningful leadership and community interaction. Humans have a soul. Machines? Well...
Yes, a future driverless car could offer me water through an automated dispenser, but it’s not the same. It can’t replicate that flash of shared humanity - the simple, powerful act of one person seeing another.
This lesson has been reinforced in my career. For example...
Years ago, a technical lead I worked with during a complex project told me he couldn’t understand why he found it so difficult to say no to my requests. Naturally, I asked him to explain. His answer? “It’s the way you approach and talk to me every time, regardless of the pressure we’re under.” I exhaled in relief - I wasn’t manipulating; I was simply being human.
That sentiment was echoed when I resigned from the same organization. One of the directors told me something I’ll never forget:
“It’s not about your technical depth, though you have it. It’s your leadership skills - how you approach assignments, how you work with people, how you reason through challenges. How you make people comfortable. You have this ability to disarm people with your words and presence. These little things... this combination in one person is rare and incredibly valuable. We can train anyone to do the technical job, but these human skills? They’re hard to teach.“
These are the dimensions of humanness that AI cannot replicate.
So yes, leverage AI wherever it makes sense - automate the repetitive, enhance the analytical, accelerate the predictive.
But as you do, double down on what makes you irreplaceable: your authentic voice, your ability to connect, to empathize, to lead with humanity. Remember, in the rush to optimize and automate, the most powerful tool we have is the one we’ve always had: the ability to make another person feel seen and understood.
In a world of increasing artificial intelligence, your humanness isn’t just an asset.
It’s your competitive advantage.
Dapo Bankole