Anthropic’s recent study on AI and software engineering caught my attention. Of course, it showed gains in productivity, but it also revealed insights on the human side.
Engineers shared that while using AI, they “need colleagues less” and that junior team members ask fewer questions. That pattern isn’t limited to tech. It is a preview of what many professions are facing and will contend with in the future.
From the Leadership Lens:
Mentorship becomes less organic.
When AI is the first stop to ask for help, we miss the interactions that build trust, confidence and relationship. When I ask leaders what they love about leading, it is almost always the connection aspect. We feel our contribution in the human exchanges. When we transfer our experience and knowledge into mentorship, we feel valuable.
Leadership development gets flatter.
People may advance technically while missing the deeper developmental experiences that come through dialogue, modeling, and reflection. Yes! It is uncomfortable to say “I don’t know” and “I need help” but it is in the discomfort that we grow. AI is removing the discomfort of being a beginner but that is a developmental level no human gets to skip (to then become a mature leader one day).
Collaboration gets quieter.
When work becomes “AI+me”, we lose the spark of innovation. We need to hear the silly ideas that spark the breakthrough solutions. We miss the camaraderie that comes from toiling over a tough problem. Of course AI is a fantastic tool that gives us the perfect answer in moments! But we need to find ways to fill in the gaps for connection, belonging and being in struggle together. We are built for bonding. The kind of bonding that comes from working together.
The meaning and purpose we derive from work is more than productivity. We saw productivity go up but innovation go down when the pandemic pushed us to home offices. On the horizon is more isolation and disconnection with AI.
Don’t get me wrong, I use AI. I love having a personal assistant at my fingertips! I also work from a home office most days. Both of those experiences have me longing for deeper connection on the days I am not on-site with clients. What I am noticing in my coaching conversations and across teams is that as we lose the natural connection points and bypass developmental milestones we miss opportunities to grow and feel a sense of purpose. I am not opposed to AI, just curious about how we fill in the gaps it is creating. I am looking inward and to my coaching colleagues to do what we do best: address the universal human needs in the workplace.
In an AI-loaded future, our greatest differentiators will be emotional capacity, trust and presence. We are still human, hard-wired for connection, after all.
The question I am setting out to explore: How do leaders help to meet the universal human needs in the workplace in the age of AI?
The landscape it shifting quickly and the human-centered thought leaders are going to be called upon to fill in the gaps. I look forward to co-designing opportunities for the meeting of those human needs with others.