Today’s headlines are filled with talk of the latest, greatest tech, and here at Impressions Magazine we’re no exception. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that. However, amid all the hype it’s important to not lose sight of the importance of plain old, garden variety human beings.
Case in point, Jenna Harding’s piece on social media and the importance of not just letting some generative AI algorithm do all your writing for you. Sure, it’s quick and easy. At the same time, though, it won’t take long for these otherwise impressive looking results to start coming across as equally sterile, with potentially disastrous consequences for anyone looking to connect with the actual people out there on which their business depends.
Same thing with the day-to-day operations of any well-run company. In Marshall Atkinson’s article on organizing ordering, he spends a lot of time discussing the importance of systems. However, the idea here isn’t to create a bunch of systems for systems’ sake, but to make things easier for the people employing them. The most brilliant systems in the world won’t do you any good if they don’t take into account the needs of the individuals they’re supposed to serve.
Finally, there is the case of Spectrum Designs, as described in Nicole Rollender’s recent article on the firm, a highly successful decorating business dedicated to providing careers for individuals on the autism spectrum. Obviously, machines and tech are a big part of the company’s story. But it’s the human element that has made the organization the success it is today. Suffice it to say, empathy is a big part of the equation here, and the results speak for themselves.
At the end of the day, people are people, and machines aren’t and never will be—something the higher ups of the world, in particular, would do well to keep in mind.
