We Are Not Ready for What AI Is About to Ask of Us
- Sharon Cumberbatch
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
There is a conversation happening in boardrooms, on podcasts, and in policy meetings about artificial intelligence. It centers on productivity. On cost reduction. On workflow automation and what jobs will look like five years from now.
That conversation is important. But it is also incomplete.
I am asking these questions from inside the industry. I help businesses understand, adopt, and implement AI every day. I believe in what it can do. And precisely because I am this close to it, I feel a responsibility to ask what most people in this space are not asking.
What happens to the human spirit when Artificial intelligence arrives in full force?
The Question Underneath the Question
When an expert talks about where AI will be in one to three years, the productivity story is easy to follow. Faster workflows. Smarter tools. Apps built in hours that used to take months. That part almost sells itself.
But here is the part that deserves more of our attention.
Unlike the industrial revolution or the rise of the internet, I am not convinced there is as much guaranteed upside for everyday people in the AI transition. The gap between those who understand these tools and those who do not is growing. And when AI can do more of the knowledge work, the creative work, the communication work, and deep thinking, what do we reorganize our lives around?
Work is not just how we earn income. For most people, work is how they find purpose. It is how they structure their days, offers a way to care for famiy, and measure their contribution to the world. When that changes at this scale, the question is not just economic. It is existential.
What Are We Actually Preparing For
Most of the response to AI displacement focuses on retraining. Learn new skills. Adapt. Find a new lane. That advice is practical and not wrong. But it still treats this as a job market problem.
The deeper issue is a meaning problem.
We need to be asking things like: What does it mean to have purpose in a world where machines can do most of what we used to call work? How do we help people find identity and contribution outside of their job title? And who is responsible for leading that conversation?
Those of us who are building AI solutions and advising businesses on how to adopt them have a seat at that table whether we want it or not. We are not neutral parties. The work we do shapes how this technology lands in the real world. And that comes with responsibility.
These are not questions technology can answer. They are questions that require cultural, spiritual, and community-based leadership. And I believe the people closest to this work need to be part of raising them.
What This Means for Business Leaders Right Now
If you are leading a business, you are already navigating this. AI is changing how your team works, how your clients expect to be served, and how your competitors are operating. The pressure to adopt intelligence is real.
But adoption without reflection is its own kind of risk.
The businesses that will lead well through this transition are the ones who understand that their people need more than new tools. They need clarity of purpose. They need to know that their contribution still matters. They need leadership that sees them as human beings first. What is the plan for that?
This is not soft thinking. It is strategic. A team with purpose and direction will outperform a team that is simply automated at scale every time.
The Precaution Nobody Is Talking About
We are very focused right now on guardrails around AI safety, on regulation, on who controls the technology. Those conversations matter. But the precaution that is not getting enough attention is the inner one. The cultural work. The community work. The faith work.
How do we prepare people not just to survive an AI world but to flourish in one?
How do we make sure the productivity gains do not only travel upward to those who already have access and resources, while everyone else scrambles to stay relevant?
How do we hold onto what makes us human, our need to create, to connect, to contribute, to belong, even as the tools around us become increasingly capable of doing what we once thought only humans could do?
These are the questions I am committed to asking. Not instead of advancing this technology. But alongside it. As someone who is building in this space and believes that how we build matters just as much as what we build.
Because the technology is coming. The only question is what kind of people we choose to be when it gets here.
Like what you've read? We would love to hear from you!! Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.
SUBSCRIBE NOW TO RECEIVE NEW BLOG NOTIFICATIONS
NEED MARKETING ASSISTANCE TO HELP GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
Contact McFarlane Marketing - Website Design, Branding, AI, Email Marketing and more.
563-447-2790 Tell Us What You Need
Sharon Cumberbatch is the founder of McFarlane Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency in the Quad Cities specializing in AI consulting, web design, and digital strategy. She helps businesses adopt and implement AI in ways that are practical, purposeful, and human-centered. Learn more at mcfarlanemarketing.com.
Comments