Artificial intelligence has entered the workplace with astonishing speed, reshaping how organizations operate. According to a report published in 2024, 65% of responders agreed that their organizations use AI. While automation enhances decision-making and efficiency in the workplace, it has also sparked concerns about the impact on human values.
This is the issue that leadership experts Marsha King, PhD. (President of Polaris Leadership Consulting, and Director of the Leadership Coaching Certification at the University at Buffalo), and Larry Glass, PhD., MPH (President of ARI Consulting), have placed at the center of their work. Through their AI-monitored leadership coaching program, they are confronting the human cost of digital acceleration. Their message is clear: the future of leadership will depend not on how fast organizations adopt technology, but on how thoughtfully they use it.
"Since AI has learned to communicate with us in ways that seem human, we often assume it possesses human qualities, but it doesn't," says Marsha. Larry adds that the increased use of AI is slowly dehumanizing people. To prevent this, he notes, people should learn to thoughtfully and purposefully apply artificial intelligence before problems or gaps emerge.
Larry also calls the current moment a "real-time population experiment with no control group." The speed of adoption, he warns, leaves little time to assess the social consequences. Marsha adds that the danger lies in how AI is often used as a replacement for human connection instead of a tool to deepen it.
A recent report revealed that although an estimated 170 million jobs will be created this year, AI tools pose a significant threat to many entry-level positions through automation. "When entry-level roles disappear under automation, organizations lose the training ground where expertise is born. Without early-career experiences, who becomes the next generation of subject matter experts?" says Larry.
Marsha emphasizes that the growing reliance on AI could eventually diminish employees' motivation. To address this challenge, she advises companies to make employees feel valued. She argues that three psychological needs are essential for individuals to feel truly human: to feel informed, included, and important. "When these needs are met, employees find meaning in their work. When ignored, even the most advanced systems fail to inspire commitment," she says.
However, both Larry and Marsha believe this outcome is not inevitable, provided that leadership remains attentive and proactive. They encourage companies to equip employees in managerial roles with the ability to listen, empathize, and communicate meaningfully to build resilience in employees that technology alone cannot provide.
Together, they have collaborated to work with organizations to implement AI and emotional intelligence to create a more resilient and talented workforce. For example, Larry and Marsha are both faculty members in a university program that teaches leadership coaching, using AI as part of their platform. Their model enables effective coaching by leveraging AI as a reflective partner. The program integrates AI into its structure to assess 14 essential coaching competencies, ranging from rapport building and active listening to tone management and fostering ownership. Another example is their collaboration with a non-profit to influence how they incorporate the human element into their AI implementation strategy.
The AI system analyzes recorded coaching sessions and identifies behavioral patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. But its role stops there. "AI provides data points, not human feedback. It's the conversations that give the data meaning," says Marsha. "If we use AI intentionally to support and develop people, we can make our businesses faster, better, more efficient, and also engage employees more deeply, give their work greater meaning, and help them feel genuinely valued and cared for."
Their blended approach is designed to leverage technology to enhance, rather than diminish, human capability. By combining machine precision with emotional intelligence, the program helps future leadership coaching individuals develop the soft skills that AI can never replicate.
The message emerging from Larry and Marsha is both pragmatic and hopeful. AI is here to stay, but so is the human spirit. Responsible adoption means understanding that while machines can process information, only people can create understanding.
