In a World full of AI, What Actually Make a Difference?
Hey ChatGPT, can you please…
Make a personal connection with me and the leader of an organization that’s built on trust?
Use your lived experience to relate to someone who shares a similar story?
Convince someone who’s never met me — or engaged with my organization — to trust me?
Gather the perspectives of everyone in a neighborhood and summarize their thoughts, feelings and feedback?
Connect with the neighbor who has lived in their home for 50 years and understand what parts of a changing community concern and excite them the most.
These prompts seem silly – because they are.
They’re prompts that require creativity, emotion, vulnerability and most importantly, connection. These asks aren’t possible without time, collaboration and true relationship building. That’s where strategic communications and community engagement come in.
Earlier this year, tech journalist and Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern gave a commencement speech on the rise of artificial intelligence. She shared five rules for living and thriving in an AI world, and it got me thinking: How do these rules apply to the work we do?
Here’s how I interpret her rules through the lens of communications, community engagement and values-based leadership.
Rule 1 - Be a Creative Human.
“What sets us apart from AI is our emotion, creativity and vulnerability.”
The 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) Future of Jobs Report recently shared the top growing skills in today’s workforce: AI, big data, cybersecurity and tech literacy. But sitting right alongside those? Creative thinking. In fact, 70% of employers surveyed identified it as a skill of increasing importance.
That’s because the best ideas — the ones that move people, shift perspectives, and strengthen connections — come from human experience. Whether it’s storytelling, designing inclusive campaigns, or navigating complex community conversations, creativity remains at the core of authentic engagement.
Rule 2 - Be a Lifelong Learner.
“You don’t have to know exactly what’s next, but you have to keep learning and be ready to build it.”
The pace of change isn’t slowing down — and that’s not a bad thing. Our ability to learn and adapt makes us better communicators, collaborators and problem-solvers. Whether it’s embracing new technologies or understanding emerging or evolving community needs, staying curious and open is a superpower.
Rule 3 - Be a Truthseeker.
“Read the news, heck even pay for the news, and support real journalism instead of just the kind that might recycle AI generated sludge.”
As a journalist, this point might be a little biased, but I couldn’t agree more. In a world where it gets easier by the day to create misinformed videos, photos, headlines and more, real journalism is one of our most powerful tools for informed decision-making, civic trust and accountability. It's a tool that can greatly benefit your organization and should be part of your strategic communications efforts.
(I recently wrote about the importance of earned media and how to use this tool to meet your organization’s goals. Check it out.)
Rule 4 - Be a Hard Worker.
“Let AI help with the work, but don’t let it shortcut the important efforts.”
Don’t get me wrong. AI is a great tool and it has its place in your organization (it even helped me write this blog), but the real meaningful work comes from the important efforts and engagements that you make along the way.
No algorithm can replicate the real work of building community. That’s the time spent listening, showing up, having hard conversations and investing in long-term trust.
The most meaningful outcomes come from showing up consistently. That’s how you get beyond surface-level engagement and into real relationships that create impact.
Rule 5 - Be a Collaborator.
“Your greatest collaborators will still be other humans. My best and most creative work over the years — the stuff that won me awards and accolades — came because people who I was with people who challenged me inspired and supported me.”
Put yourself in the room! In a post-pandemic world, it’s tempting to stay behind a screen. But meaningful work happens in communities: at coffee shops, town halls, neighborhood events and shared spaces. It happens when we listen to people whose lives look different from our own and ask: What matters most to you.
That kind of curiosity leads to creativity. And creativity fuels the ideas that change communities.
Stern closed her speech with this powerful reminder:
“At the end of the day, it's not the machines that will define your future. It's the relationships you build, the values you carry and the curiosity and creativity you bring to everything you do.”
So, how are you building relationships, living your values, and bringing curiosity and creativity to your work?
If you’d like to work with an organization who really gets the importance of that, we’re here for you. Find out more about how we work here.