AI can make you a better human

It’s up to you to decide what “better” looks like.

I’m a better person, thanks to AI.

That’s the bold claim I make in my latest for The Wall Street Journal . AI has helped me tame my reactivity, my judgment, and my sometimes misplaced tendency to dish out advice.

But being a good person isn’t one-size-fits-all. When I was a little kid watching Sesame Street, I thought it was simply a matter of trying your best. Now I see that we each struggle with different lapses or limitations….which is why it’s so helpful to work on these challenges with AI, instead of relying on some one-size-fits-all guide to what a good human is supposed to look like.

There is no one way to be a better human

The truth is that our working definition of a good human—especially in the workplace!—is based on a lot of assumptions and expectations about how we’ll think, react, or communicate. But not all of us show consideration through well-chosen words or full eye contact, and many of us don’t want to receive “compassion” in the form of a hug or unsolicited advice.

Each of us shows up at work with different instincts and preferences for how we will communicate and collaborate. What feels like “professionalism” to one person feels like cold remove to another; what feels like “belonging” to one employee may land with someone else as claustrophobic groupthink. One colleague receives your well-intended advice as implicit criticism; another experiences your effort at restraint as a lack of interest in their challenges.

Once we see these differences as a mismatch of expectations, rather than a failure of human skills, we can get practical about closing the gaps. AI can be part of that picture, by helping us identify and troubleshoot the very specific ways our interactions rub other people the wrong way or keep us from forming the trust and connection that support effective collaboration.