Last week, we heard Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister making headlines for addressing the social fear of AI while asking us to seize the concept that “AI and tech should make us more human”. A bold but important statement which re-frames the conversation. AI isn’t here to replace us, it’s here to remind us what we’re great at.  

AI makes us more human – and that’s a great thing 

How does it? Well technology amplifies people – and performance. It doesn’t remove decision makers, or the need to use human senses to drive those decisions, but it does remove the noise and hours chasing information and double handling information you’re never quite sure about. 

Enabling people do what they do best  

As organisations come to grips with how they might use AI in their businesses, the reality is it really can help humans to do what they do best. 

AI can’t replicate the gut feel of knowing whether something feels right or not, but the insights can provide all of the information we need, quickly and accurately. Which means less stress and more time to do things that a) matter and b) make us happy. 

Let technology do the heavy lifting 

If AI is given the latitude it should, we’ll have more time to bring the next generation of building information specialists up to speed, to coach and mentor and disseminate the knowledge that will build and inform capability for the future. 

Imagine how much we could all achieve?

If we spent engineering time improving infrastructure rather than reactively responding to it. Or if owners knew and could instantly adjust how their assets operated and shift focus in real time? Or if tenants knew how comfortable and efficient their space was and renewed their leases automatically as a result? 

AI is about helping everyone to thrive 

It’s not about unskilling, it’s about upskilling. In giving people the tools and time to invest in activity which only humans can do. Open data access makes sure nobody gets left behind. Automated insights make faster better decisions and human centred design means our tech makes us stronger together, so that the buildings work for the people who own, operate and reside in them. 

We think that’s a vision worth pursuing.