Are We Training AI Better Than Our People?
A Call for Human-Centric Empathy in Marketing
In our current AI-obsessed environment, our interactions with artificial intelligence seem to embody patience and a supportive, educational approach. We prompt AI to be an expert, gently coaxing it through its hallucinations and iterative learning curve.
But when it comes to human colleagues, we flip the script entirely.
We hire people with impressive experience, only to enforce stringent conformity to organizational processes, tools, and protocols, often stifling the very expertise we sought in the first place.
The irony is stark: we may be investing more empathy, time, and training into our AI systems than our own community of skilled professionals.
This tendency might just be causing "organizational amnesia"—a loss of our capacity to appreciate and leverage human experience. And while AI can help us automate, scale, and innovate, overlooking the deep-seated knowledge our people bring could leave us overly dependent on tech that still lacks true intuition.
The Empathy Gap: Why AI Gets a Gentle Touch, and People Get Constrained
1. The Double Standard in Onboarding AI, by design, arrives as a blank slate, absorbing data and learning rules through trial and error. As humans guiding it, we bring patience, knowing it will make mistakes. AI’s inexperience is a given, and we adapt to nurture its evolution. But with people, experience is the primary hiring criterion. Yet once hired, human expertise is often sidelined, submerged in a sea of standardized methods and rigid processes. We treat people like "plug-and-play" elements rather than individuals with unique perspectives.
Resource: “The Marketing Mindset” by Jay Mandel suggests companies need a clear, purposeful approach to onboarding both people and tech—where all efforts align with overarching brand values and respect for individual contributions.
2. Nullifying Experience as a Requirement Human professionals are not just repositories of knowledge; they bring intuition, critical thinking, and creativity shaped by real-world contexts. Yet, when individuals join new teams, their experience is often neutralized by demands to adapt strictly to "how we do things here." This paradox reduces experience from a vital asset to a footnote, inadvertently signaling that conformity matters more than insight.
3. A Preference for Inexperience and Automation The emphasis on developing AI to fit seamlessly into organizational roles, while under-developing human potential, implies an unspoken preference for the controllability of inexperienced tech over experienced professionals. Marketing, in particular, needs this perspective shift, given its reliance on understanding nuance, human behavior, and empathy. By failing to nurture human expertise, companies risk losing sight of how best to work with seasoned minds—opting instead for the blank-slate AI that demands immense programming to emulate what human intuition offers naturally.
Why This Matters: Long-Term Implications on Team Dynamics 🕰️
Our approach could have a lasting impact on marketing teams and beyond. Here’s why it’s critical to strike a balance:
Loss of Collective Knowledge: Over time, this "organizational amnesia" can weaken a company's cultural memory. When we rely heavily on data-driven tools while sidelining human experience, we begin to lose the nuanced understanding of past decisions, consumer relationships, and market insights that seasoned professionals bring.
Over-Reliance on AI: AI excels at patterns and predictions but lacks the creativity and emotional intelligence required for true consumer connection. As marketing teams increasingly favor AI-driven data over human insight, they may find themselves distanced from the evolving emotions and values of their audience.
Resource: Mark Stouse, founder and CEO of Proof Analytics, regularly posts on his LinkedIn really good, insightful thinking on the dynamic interplay of people, tech, and processes; definitely worth a follow!
Team Cohesion and Purpose: Treating AI with more empathy than we extend to our team members can erode morale. The core of a marketing team’s success lies in a sense of purpose and shared goals. Fostering empathy within human teams and respecting each individual's contributions are paramount for sustaining engagement and innovation.
Actionable Steps: Shifting from AI-Centric to People-Centric Development 🛠️
If you’re in marketing, here’s how you can rebalance the scales in favor of a human-centered approach, both in your professional setup and personal growth:
Implement Human-Centric Onboarding: Just as we customize prompts to help AI evolve, create tailored onboarding for new hires that respects their experience. Encourage them to bring fresh insights to existing processes rather than solely adapting to the status quo. Think of onboarding as a mutual adaptation rather than a one-way imposition.
Foster Psychological Safety: Develop a team culture that values learning from failures—an approach we instinctively apply to AI. People are less likely to share their experience if they feel it will be dismissed. Create an environment where each team member feels safe to voice innovative or even unconventional ideas without fear of pushback.
Resource: The concept of “psychological safety” discussed in MAC’s Taxonomy highlights that innovation thrives where people feel trusted and valued. This principle can unlock creative potential when applied consistently within teams.Embed Continuous Learning and Development: AI evolves through constant updates, and our people should, too. Set aside regular time for skills development, knowledge sharing, and cross-training, ensuring all team members feel empowered to grow with the latest trends and techniques. Equip teams with a budget for professional growth, be it in industry workshops or personal coaching.
Encourage a Mix of Data-Driven and Human Insight: AI can process enormous amounts of data, but human insight is essential to interpret and apply it creatively. Set a standard for decision-making that balances the quantitative strengths of AI with the qualitative expertise of your team. This approach helps reinforce the significance of personal experience while leveraging AI’s analytical prowess.
Create AI Guidelines Rooted in Ethical Values: AI models reflect the values we encode into them. Just as MAC’s ethical principles prioritize transparency, accountability, and sustainability, integrate these standards into AI deployment to ensure it reflects your brand’s values rather than a purely data-driven approach.
By valuing human expertise and applying the same supportive, growth-focused approach to our people as we do to AI, marketing teams can foster a culture that both empowers individuals and strengthens overall brand strategy. Embracing this balance not only helps to retain talent but keeps your team agile, insightful, and ready to connect with audiences in ways that truly matter.
Real impact happens when people feel valued—and the next time you prompt your AI with empathy, remember to extend that same empathy to your colleagues. After all, AI may be a useful tool, but people are the heart of every genuinely innovative team.