At the restaurant chain Chipotle, they boast about cutting up the vegetables and making things “by hand.” 

Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup, handwrote in excess of 30,000 notes to employees over the years.

Despite all the talk and hype about ChatGPT and all manner of other AI, we humans like and need the authentic human touch. 

I was at a conference a few years ago attending a session being led by a rep from Farmers Insurance. He told a story about going to meet a client whose home had been wiped out by a tornado. He said the first thing he did was immediately embrace his client. 

That client didn’t need a long winded speech on what was covered in his policy, he needed a hug.

We humans, like it or not, are social animals. There’s a reason we get tired of automated everything and cold transactional dealings and eventually like speaking to a person. Real, human connection is something we not only need, but crave.

Enough with all of the AI, ChatGPT, bot drivel. I like art created by people, thank you. And I certainly prefer a hug from a human.

As Walt Whitman stated so eloquently, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering… these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.”

Or, if you want it said more efficiently, from the pen of my favorite business maverick, Tom Peters, “People first damn it!”

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