Computers and machines can do many things for us but they will never feel for us. Emotion is central and unique to our human experience. It is a valuable form of intelligence that is often overlooked. Research strongly suggests that emotions play a greater role in shaping decisions and behavior than raw information. Feelings have the power to outweigh logical analysis. Yet AI does not posses this form of intelligence. How do we use “emotional intelligence” to keep a creative edge in an increasingly AI-driven world?
We are not Meant to Work like Machines… We are Meant to Live like Humans.
“Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognize one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different feelings and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.” -Andrew Coleman A Dictionary of Psychology
Our Creative Edge
According to Emotional Intelligence Theory, what we actually know is not as important as understanding the ways that we learn. What type of learner are you?
- Musical-Rhythmic and Harmonic
- Visual-Spatial
- Verbal-Linguistic
- Logical-Mathematical
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalistic
Emotional Intelligence Theory says that having lots of knowledge does not always lead to success. Having good interpersonal and social skills is essential. The ability to accommodate new information requires a certain level of mental flexibility which amounts to personal character.
Impulse control and the ability to stay centered internally allows us to have composure. This is a positive character trait. Sometimes we lose composure though so the ability to laugh at ourselves can be a valuable skill. When we delve int into difficult emotions we learn better coping strategies. This grows our ability to adapt. Adaptation has been a core reason that we humans have survived over millennia.
A Lust for Learning
Emotions can motivate or suppress our behaviors. For instance, depression can make you stay in bed all day and not give a crap about anything. Curiosity can cause you to read ten books or travel the world.
Exercise, good diet, meditation, and yoga will help you improve you mood and feelings. In turn this will increase your creative muscle. The ability to perceive, use, and manage our emotions is crucial to working in groups. This collaborative skill can go along way towards all forms of success.
Collective Consciousness and AI
AI “creates” based on piecing together a patchwork of everything that humans have already created. The data that AI uses is often sourced from copyrighted material. The legality of this practice causes us to question if this falls under “fair use” or is an infringement. The result is ongoing debates about balancing innovation with protecting creators’ rights. This has caused us to question copyright law, private ownership of ideas, and the concept of the commons.
By disrupting copyright law the tension between individual ownership and collective creativity emerges. Deeper questions surface like how to balance personal rights with shared progress. In this way AI not only upends legal frameworks but also serves as a mirror for us. It shows us the power and responsibility inherent in our collective intellectual heritage.
This reflects how humanity is interconnected, constantly exchanging ideas and reshaping shared understandings. AI models, much like humans, do not create in isolation. They synthesize patterns, relationships, and trends from their training data, echoing how humans combine prior knowledge to generate new ideas.
Human Community and Emotional Intelligence
Humans are shaped by the culture, knowledge, and experiences of their communities. At the same time it is individuals who embody inspiration, love and leadership skills that shape culture. It is a feedback loop that is now accelerated exponentially by AI.
AI neural networks are interconnected nodes that process information. This resembles human social networks, where connections make the flow of ideas and innovations possible. Yet human community networks are purely dependent on our ability to communicate, listen and connect emotionally.
It is our emotional intelligence, our character and moral integrity within community that drives the whole thing. If this breaks down we will live in a society driven by heartless AI-driven data devoid of human emotional value. We are being called to embody our depths of emotion and social connections. What does it mean to be human at a time when there is so much social polarization and isolation?
Technology and Spiritual Evolution
Our ancestors had very little time to explore what being human meant beyond survival. Thanks to technology, today mechanized inventions can do manual work for us. This allows us to develop our emotional intelligence and character. Technology can help us evolve in new ways.
Emotional Self-Awareness
Having an honest relationship or even a friendship with your full emotional spectrum is very important. Certain shadow emotions like anger, sorrow, jealousy can be very difficult to navigate. Yet they still contain deep wisdom for growth and self reflection.
Only when you can be present with your emotions can you be present for others. Tuning in to others with compassion is a very powerful and deep way to create connection. This can help you at work, and at home with your family.
Our emotional realms are complex and beautiful if we are willing to explore them in a safe way. We create safe space for ourselves and others in many ways. Behaviors like listening from the heart, and not judging are so important. Allow others to tell their story and do your best to understand where they are coming from. This creates a powerful resonance with others.
Self-Mastery
Humanity has powerful collective problem-solving abilities. Breakthroughs often result from shared knowledge and collaboration. By starting within and evolving ourselves we can increase our ability to solve problems collectively in our communities.
Societies continually build on past achievements, remixing and innovating in ways that feel organic and interconnected. People learn through feedback, open dialogue, the free flow of information and iteration. AI systems improve through training cycles, mirroring how human communities refine ideas over generations.
What does a culture of emotionally evolved humans that are competent communicators look like? If we do not learn to master ourselves, AI will master us.
Final Reflection
Artificial Intelligence can already process raw data many times faster than the human brain. Machine learning requires large datasets and significant processing time to achieve similar results as the human mind. Because of our emotional intelligence and ability to adapt we are able learn things more quickly with less data.
Future iterations of AI will continue to mimic the human evolution. Likewise it will take emotionally intelligent and evolved individuals to shape the direction that AI goes. True wisdom is in knowing how to responsibly apply intelligence. This requires a degree of emotional-feeling that computers probably won’t ever have.
The stakes are high. The irresponsible, morally-bankrupt application of raw data as “intelligence” can be weaponized and become destructive. We will need to use technology with the intelligence of our compassionate hearts.
Feelings like empathy, curiosity, acceptance, connection and love are at the foundation of compassion. These emotions are some of the greatest gifts to being human. If we evolve this form of intelligence we will be in a much better place to steward AI. This is how we keep a creative edge in an increasingly AI-driven world.
