Client Spotlight: Raman Shah, Ph.D., is a data craftsman who consults with local governments on performance measurement and operational improvement. A graduate of Pathway to Publication, he wrote The Power of Reading When Robots Can Write for Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL).

Good morning, ,

I've been listening in on a lot of conversations about artificial intelligence and how it will shape the future. In one conversation, a kind man suggested that it won't be long before computer chips are implanted into our bodies.

He found this exciting.

I find it terrifying.

And dehumanizing.

In response to these conversations, I've been exploring questions about what it means to be human and what a well-lived life might look like in this rapidly changing world. My morning writing practice is filled with stories about how I want to spend whatever remaining time I have on this earth.

The word that comes up again and again and again? Connection.

Connection is at the root of what it means to be human; it is at the heart of the well-lived life I imagine for myself.

And so, I am fostering connection.

This weekend, I hosted a dinner party. I love to cook, and few things bring us together quite as well as sharing a good meal. Breaking bread allows us to be present with one another in a way that can be hard to duplicate. It allows us to share stories and find common ground.

I expected to connect with those who sat at my dining table (and we certainly did connect). But I didn't expect to connect with the assistant manager at the grocery store.

One of the biggest grocery store chains in Connecticut is Stop & Shop. And, well, it's like any large grocery store chain.

Except for Marty.

Marty is a seven-foot-tall rolling gray column with giant googly eyes. It's an autonomous aisle-patrolling robot designed to identify spills, alert those in the area to the hazard, and report the problem to the poor soul on robot duty.

Marty costs $35,000.

Unlike my free, second-hand Roomba knock-off, however, Marty doesn't clean the floor.

Marty simply squawks, "Caution, hazard detected!" repeatedly someone removes the offending hazard. And to Marty, all hazards are equal. The abandoned twist tie in the produce section? It's every bit as dangerous as the detergent spilled in aisle 20.

I raised the specter of Marty because the assistant manager was giving a new staff member a preview of what it meant to be on robot duty when she saw me scanning the aisle for orange blossom water.

"Can I help you find something?"

I told her what I was looking for, and she thought for a minute before asking me to follow her. I asked if the robot knew where it might be.

"Marty? Yeah. He knows where it is. But he won't tell us. Being helpful isn't his job. He just lists his complaints, and I spend my days trying to satisfy a picky robot."

As we searched for the orange blossom water, we chatted about cooking, our favorite unusual ingredients, and our most dog-eared cookbooks. When we found the orange blossom water, Jess shared her favorite ways to use it.

Then her phone buzzed with yet another message from her robot overlord. If Marty's complaints aren't addressed quickly, the person on robot duty is reprimanded. It was time for Jess to return to her list, so I thanked her for her time.

"No, thank you! I really enjoyed chatting with you! Let me know how your dinner party goes!"

Technology is a great tool that can (and often does) make our lives easier. But artificial intelligence can go too far — it can take us away from the things that make us human and allow us to enjoy a life well-lived.

We can't always choose how technology shows up in our world. As solo professionals, we have more choices than Jess, the assistant manager at my local Stop & Shop. We can make choices that celebrate our humanity instead of diminish it.

We need to use that power wisely.

Especially when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Vive la résistance!

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"The question of what it means to be human has become inextricable from the question of who we will be to each other. How we live into that question, I believe, will spell the difference between whether we merely survive, or whether we hold the possibility of flourishing as whole human beings, with whole institutions, inhabiting whole societies."

~ Krista Tippett, On Being

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How are you planning to build your authority in 2024?

In this LinkedIn post, I shared the seven most common authority-building tactics, along with my thoughts on where to start. Don't miss the insights former PR consultant Barry Forward shared in the comments! Join the conversation.

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Interested in learning how to pitch, write, and publish articles for industry trade journals and high-visibility publications? Join me Wednesday, February 14, at 11:55 AM Eastern for a free mini-training on identifying your audience and the media outlets that share that audience, followed by a Q+A. Register here.

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That's all for now! Thank you for being part of this community. If you have any questions or would like to respond to something I wrote, hit reply and say hello!

If you'd like to talk about how we can work together to build your authority by writing for high-visibility publications and sharing your perspective with an established audience, book a call. 

I'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Take good care,

P.S. Do you have a podcast? Are you part of a community of consultants? I'd love to be a guest expert. Hit reply, and let's talk!