My thoughts instantly went to the scene in Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise yells, "Show me the money."

Peak AI frenzy is arrived.

Every day, a new firm announces that their product line now includes a dash of AI magic. Although FOMO (fear of missing out) is probably a major factor in a lot of things, we can't ignore the possibilities that technology presents.

It's also rather intriguing.

But I'm more worried about the immediate effects of faceless algorithms on humans and the absence of safeguards that may protect people from prejudice and abuse than I am about whether or not robots will take over the world.

Some may argue that automating decision-making won't really alter anything because biases and prejudices already exist in the world. But even if replacing the gatekeeper with a machine rather than a person would not help, we might potentially make things worse because there is no way to get help after the human gatekeeper is gone.

Imagine being refused admittance into a medical institution because your face recognition doesn't match the credit profile, or being rejected for a loan because of that. Who would be responsible for the result and where might you go to get help? Do we really want to live in a world where impersonal algorithms control every choice we make and every second is maximized?

What will happen to mankind then?

Keeping people informed

We are first and foremost people.

What distinguishes leaders in the era of artificial intelligence and bits and bytes is their capacity to establish rapport, foster trust, and unite people. Beyond only anticipated productivity increases, the key is to comprehend what motivates them. In a recent LinkedIn post about the importance of human connection, my former coworker Liat Azulay emphasized the need for us to first connect on a human level by showing kindness and support to others in our immediate vicinity, before we can connect virtually.

In fact, the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023 lists empathy, active listening, leadership, and social impact as three of the top ten essential skill sets. This is especially crucial for executives who want to create more resilient, human-centered organizations with trust at its core in the face of an unpredictable economy.

Resilient organizations are 1.8 times more likely to balance empathy and economics in decision-making, according to Mercer's Global Talent Trends 2024 Report. As AI and automation continue to increase, executives of resilient organizations are "1.3 times more likely to say that jobs should be made redundant, not people," according to Mercer.Employees need to know that their supervisors will have their back.

The health of communities also depends on this circle of trust. There is another way to bank, as the film Bank of Dave reminds us. The movie, which is based on the true tale of Dave Fishwick, the proprietor of Burnley Savings and Loans, narrates how Dave applies for a new banking license in order to establish a community bank in his hometown to assist Burnley's small companies who are unable to obtain loans from high-street banks.

Having compassion for others is just smart business.

In an effort to promote responsible AI innovation, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released its first set of government-wide policy guidelines. A few of the suggested measures aim to reduce the possibility of algorithmic prejudice and to make the government's use of AI more transparent. According to the OMB, "there is human oversight of significant decisions when AI is used to detect fraud in government services, and affected individuals have the opportunity to seek remedy for AI harms."

This is a positive step at a time when we are finding it difficult to keep up with the rapid advancements in technological invention and acceptance. In light of AI's increasing prominence, the coming years offer organizations a rare chance to reconsider and reinvent existing workplace cultures and to foster new, machine-augmented modes of working that are centered around equity and trust. We may still restore our empathy, which makes us distinctively human, even in the era of the AI arms race.