Intelligence Can Be Artificial, But Empathy Cannot

The discussion around AI, its impact on the workplace and, more recently, the potential short and long-term risks has reached fever pitch in the last few months. Driven by seemingly universal interest in OpenAI's ChatGPT platform, senior executives have been asking, and asked, how this will affect their organization. In parallel, there's been much speculation on the impact this will have on certain jobs, functions and businesses – in some cases suggesting that AI will effectively replace people in many cases.

This is exciting – in every meaning of the word – but this hype cycle is not new. In fact, throughout the annals of human history technological innovation has prompted both enthusiasm and fear – not always in equal measure. What's possibly at play is how deeply the threat of AI is ingrained in our mindset due to the entertainment industry's bleak view of AI and its quest to excite our imaginations with the prospect of replacing – or even eradicating -- our