The places AI can’t reach
If, like me, you go to the pub regularly with middle aged men (!), you’ll find that the conversation sooner or later turns to Artificial Intelligence, and the growing number of ways it is being used to enhance our lives.
Many people see it as a tool that could potentially be used for almost anything, and this in turn is generating a feeling of genuine fear that it will take away millions of jobs from people.
Coaching is one area in which some people have turned to AI as a cheaper alternative to getting a human being to help them deal with their challenges. There are vast numbers of AI coaching platforms springing up over the internet, and these may well be useful in helping with some coaching tasks, such as setting goals when the coachee has a clear idea of what they want to achieve and needs assistance in plotting out their steps to it.
Despite the rise of AI though, I strongly believe that coaching is one area in which it will not replace human beings. This is for one specific, and critically important, reason – human contact.
When people look for a coach, they are not simply looking to solve a problem, overcome a challenge or achieve a goal. They are looking to be heard, seen and supported. And specifically, looking to be heard, seen and supported by another human being.
The thing that has perhaps surprised me most in my work as a coach is how much value a client gets just from having a 50-minute space in their week in which another human being is completely focussed on them and their needs.
Even if a coach was to do nothing else in this session but be there for the client and actively listen to them in dedication to supporting them and their needs, this would provide enormous benefit to the client. It would be an experience that most of us would gladly pay for.
Needless to say, coaching provides a great deal more than just this space and human connection, but I suggest it is at least 50 per cent of the value of coaching. And this element of coaching cannot be replicated by Artificial Intelligence. It can only be provided by human beings – those trained in coaching.
This space and human connection are valuable even when a client feels they have a clear idea of what they want to achieve. Human beings are complex emotional creatures, and not simply ‘calculating machines’. A client may be carrying many hidden beliefs, assumptions and ideas below the surface of their mind that they need to bring into the open before they can move forward in a way that truly feels right for them. A trained human being can help a client access these things.
So, when you are thinking about getting coaching, remember the value of another human being, and what their dedicated focus and support might mean to you.
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