What Generative AI Means for the Future of Communication

With the explosion in generative AI, we’re seeing thousands of tasks get automated every day. GPT-enabled systems can write blogs, generate customer support emails, edit videos, and even create Van Gogh-like paintings. What does this mean for the most fundamental aspect of human interaction—the way we communicate with one another? What’s the future of communication?

What Is the Future of Communication With GPT-Enabled Skills?

I imagine a not-too-distant future where having the right answer at your fingertips will be the norm, not the exception. Access to in-the-moment information will be completely commoditized.

A college graduate interviewing at McKinsey will be able to instantly tell you how to calculate the number of ping pong balls in a Boeing 747 or the number of windows in New York City. This information will show up on their screen (or AI-powered chip in their brain—Wait, what?!) as soon as the interviewer asks the question.

A Ford sales executive will be able to give you the most personalized, relevant, and up-to-date pitch about why you should buy the new Ford car. They’ll cross-reference your current salary and purchase behavior with every conversation you’ve had with a car sales representative to address your concerns.

An absentminded spouse will no longer fumble the next time their partner asks them their anniversary date or what they did for their child’s second birthday. They’ll have the right thing to say at the right time (P.S. This is a billion-dollar business waiting to take off.)

In a world with ubiquitous, contextual, and real-time knowledge—all powered by AI—the content of what we say will lose significance. But how we deliver that message will likely separate top performers from the rest. The interviewee, salesperson, and spouse must convey their story with even more passion, conviction, and authenticity to differentiate themselves from everyone else.

Can AI Automate Interpersonal Human Communication?

I do not believe that AI can (or should) automate interpersonal human communication. The way we build rapport with another person is based on a complex web of emotions that’s too difficult to deconstruct. Even the most sophisticated AI model cannot replicate empathy, emotional intelligence, and feelings from prior interactions. This nuance in communication will likely make us even more human in an AI-powered world.

At Yoodli, we’re building for a future where AI will help people be more effective communicators. Everyone will have a personalized AI speech coach by their side at all times—like the friend who pokes you under the table when you make a faux pas at a dinner party. Platforms such as Yoodli will give you real-time nudges on your Apple Watch to speak faster or slower depending on the conversation, to calm down when you’re getting heated in a negotiation, or to remember to mention your key talking point in a presentation.

Yoodli will give me best practices on how to speak with charisma. However, technology will not be able to recreate the passion, conviction, and authenticity in that in-person interaction with the interviewer, car buyer, or spouse. Interpersonal communication skills will be more important than ever. AI will help me speak more effectively. But I, in the most human way, will still need to convince the listener of what I’m saying.

Wrapping Up

The future of communication will see content increasingly losing value, making delivery more and more important. But, regardless of the advancements in generative AI, communication among people can’t truly be replaced by machines. That’s because, at its heart, communication is human. So, Yoodli’s AI platform won’t replace you. It will simply continue to help you authentically communicate as a human as it always has.