ONE

One. You have been granted the extraordinary gift of one life, a gift allowing you to do what has yet to be done, to create what has never before been captured or envisioned in just that way, to heal those who have before been left broken and diseased, without hope for a cure. You have one life to invent something world-changing, to write something that helps humans re-envision and revalue one another, to speak in ways that challenge the societal scripts we have inherited and have yet to dismantle. One life, one moment, to be all that you are and become all that you are capable of becoming.

Throughout the history of humankind, there has never been anyone just like you. Let that sink in for a moment. Out of the estimated 117 billion humans who have walked this earth to date, not a single one has looked like you and felt like you and thought like you. Not one has seen what you’ve seen and lived through what you’ve lived through and responded as you’ve responded. And here you are. Battered a bit, but still standing and still dreaming and still believing you have something unique to offer this world, something that will bring light back to dark times, something that will restore peace amid the noise, something that will lift not only your life but countless others in the process. 

Then along come the tech bros to tell you that you’re nothing special. It’s their creations—ChatGPT, Bard, Llama 2, and others—that are special. “Intelligent” AI that creates like humans, designs like humans, writes like humans, “thinks” like humans, maybe one day “feels” like humans. An “intelligence” that will eventually replace humans, or so they say. But you know better. Because deep down inside that beating heart, you know you are uniquely valuable, uniquely gifted, uniquely able to bring positive impacts to this world and to the lives of your fellow humans. You know there is something only you can add to this world, something no machine can emulate or replace.

So where to begin? Begin by choosing connection with your fellow humans. In the book The Dragonfly Effect, authors Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith argue that there are at least three fundamental needs for human self-worth: “competence (feeling that we are effective and able), autonomy (feeling that we are able to dictate our own behavior), and relatedness (feeling that we are connected to others).” It is relatedness that we are most at risk of losing, our ability to see ourselves in others, to see our shared value in this human existence, to see how we are greater together than we are of ourselves. The Maori tribe of New Zealand has a term for this concept of togetherness: kotahitanga. As Maori elder Trevor Moeke explains in this video, there is a value set embedded in the term, values of reciprocity, of knowing yourself in order to know others, of being articulate and confident in your culture so that you are able to recognize and respect that in others. It is a term built on a paradox, according to Moeke, the paradox that “even though of ourselves we can achieve many things, in the end we need others to create greater and greater things.”

We need to learn our true worth and value as humans. We need to recognize and respect that in others. And we need to build on that recognition by connecting with each other, by coming together to accomplish greater things, things only those with our unique talents, gifts, ideas and ways of seeing can accomplish. 

But here’s the thing: you don’t yet know the greatness in others that you cross paths with, and you will never learn that greatness if you bypass those humans in favor of technology. As C.S. Lewis reminded us in his discourse titled “The Weight of Glory,” delivered in 1942, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.” And, I would add, as little technology as possible between that human interaction.

That cashier at the store that you’re avoiding in favor of the automated checkout machine? That is no mere cashier. That is a uniquely gifted human being who has something special to add to this world and to your day if you will take but a moment to connect, to share a greeting and a smile, if you will take seriously this opportunity to meet your fellow human. That fitness trainer at your gym? That is no mere human trained in the art of health and human performance but easily replaced by AI trainers in the caricature of your choice. That is a talented fellow traveler on this earth who has chosen to spend their life in the service of you, in helping you attain the wellness needed to become all you are capable of becoming and achieve your unique impact on the world. That neighbor you have lived next to for years but never bothered to meet? That is no mere retired man doing his regular drive on his lawnmower. That is an extraordinary father of extraordinary kids who has spent a lifetime building a legacy of meaning and value. A man with a life story that will both inspire you and break your heart, give you strength and grant you an opportunity to strengthen him. No AI chatbot serving as a “mirror image back to yourself” can replace his lived experience, his decades of wisdom and insight, or his compassionate reception of your own story. 

Bet on your fellow humans. Connect with them. Build greatness in this world together. How? Choose to read writing that has been composed by humans and learn ideas never conceived of before. Choose to invest in humans and join the effort to build a better world for all human inhabitants, regardless of race, culture, orientation, location, financial means, or any of the other markers we use to divide ourselves. Listen to music created by humans and build a soundtrack that empowers you to accomplish the challenges in front of you and in front of all of us. Visit human doctors who are genuinely interested in your wellbeing and wellness and create a partnership that will provide the vitality necessary to do great things. Employ human workers and watch your business and the world flourish with the inspiration and innovation they bring to your company’s work. Together, we can create greater and greater things. But first, we must choose each other. We must choose to connect with our fellow human beings—face-to-face, heart-to-heart. And we must choose this each and every day.