The Boy From the Neighborhood
So… growing up, was there a "boy" in your life? I mean the boy. The one every auntie and uncle held up at every family gathering as the gold standard you should be measuring yourself against. They had the best marks. Went to the best college. They were the one whose achievements somehow made it into every conversation about your own life choices.
To be honest, I hadn't thought about that boy in years. Then, in a conversation with my dear friend Sandeep Krishnamurthy — Dean of the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona, and someone who's spent his career thinking about intelligence, tech, and what actually makes us human — he said something that stopped me in my tracks – he said, "Today, AI is that boy."
The Multi-Dimensionality of Humanity
I mean... he’s kind of right. AI writes faster than us. Never gets tired. Never has an off day. And somewhere under all the noise about productivity and disruption, I think a lot of us have started asking ourselves the same question our aunties used to ask: why can't you be more like it?
Thing is, that comparison was never fair — not with the actual neighbor's kid decades ago, and not with AI now. The neighbor kid was only one kind of smart. AI is one kind of smart. But you? You're plural. Multi-faceted. You're the friend who notices your friend needs a hug. You’re the person whose presence in a room makes it more welcoming. That's not something an algorithm can even come close to doing.
There is No Competition
There's also a piece of this conversation that's stuck with me even more than the comparison itself — Sandeep's distinction between intelligence and consciousness. AI can act as though it's intelligent. It will never have what he calls, in Sanskrit, jivatma — the living, animating presence that lets you feel truly seen by another person. No AI has ever walked into a room and made you feel instantly at ease. That's not just a small thing. It might be the whole thing.
You were never really in competition with the neighbor's boy. You're not in competition with his digital replacement either.
Listen for More Insights
Our conversation was filled with insights on the impact of AI on college students and mid-career leaders alike. Dive into the unfair comparison and find out why intelligence isn't the same as consciousness. Learn more about the impact of artificial intimacy and the shift to prioritizing humanity.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Mindful Momentum Leadership Podcast — find it on YouTube, Apple or wherever you listen.
Listen to our conversation here!