Today I want to share three tiny thoughts on AI’s role in business and human connection. Each insight comes from my own real experiences—from AI conferences to community rebuilding to local business meetings—that reveal where tech ends and humanity begins.
From “moving bits” to “making bits”
Last week, I attended AILA’s AI on the Lot—LA’s AI film conference bringing together creators, innovators, and entertainment executives. Doug Shapiro’s keynote alone was worth the price of admission.
Doug explained that the last decade transformed media through new distribution methods (“moving bits”) with platforms like Netflix and YouTube revolutionizing how we share content. The next decade (honestly, probably sooner) will see equally dramatic changes in content creation itself through AI (“making bits”). Just as the internet made information sharing cheap and accessible, AI is making content creation exponentially more affordable and accessible for everyone.
Human touch over automation
Recently, I’ve been helping a founder reconnect with her customers after an extended absence. Honestly, I’d never tackled anything quite like this, so I was secretly freaking out about the approach.
My knee-jerk reaction was pure tech: automate the emails, send liberally, easy. But after deeper reflection, we chose a more authentic, human-centered strategy instead. We focused on honest communication about her leave, offered genuine resources, and prioritized rebuilding trust through transparency. Was this the right call? The jury’s still out, but early feedback has been positive. Doubtful that automated outreach would have achieved this result.
Psychological safety over AI
This week I met with local small businesses during a Chamber of Commerce meeting. The trending discussion surprised me. It wasn’t about AI implementation, revenue optimization, or digital marketing strategies. Instead, the trending topic for small businesses was psychological safety. Something AI simply cannot provide, at least not yet.
This experience reinforced my strategy of hedging against AI by doubling down on distinctly human capabilities. I’m focusing on areas where AI will struggle longest: building authentic relationships, creating genuine connection spaces, and making intuitive judgments honed by decades of experience. Don’t get me wrong — I use AI daily and genuinely enjoy it. But I’m also making deliberate investments in the irreplaceably human aspects of my work and life.
Thanks for reading!