The age of AI? No, the age of emotions!

What comes after AI?

Our lifestyle has drastically changed over the past decade considering smartphones were just getting their legs 10 years ago. Things around us are changing so rapidly that no one can imagine what will happen in 10 years from now. I think our lifestyle and way of working will keep changing and improving going forward. My theory is that the more we depend on AI, the more we pay attention to emotions.

Can a machine read our emotions?

As an HSP, I am sensitive, and I get emotionally involved with people around me. For me, facial expressions and the tone of voice play a big part in finding out how they feel.

If those two really are big factors to understand how others feel, technology could lead us to a new phase where a machine can analyze human’s facial expressions and the tone of voice. In a book called “Blink” by a famous Canadian author Malcolm Gladwell, he introduces a story about a researcher who can predict where a married couple will be in 15 years with 95% accuracy by analyzing their emotions while they are having conversation for 1 minute. He uses a technology that categorizes emotions into 20 types and assign numbers to each footage, and then he watches it while analyzing the change of their emotions.

So what happens if this type of technology is used on a day-to-day basis? If the technology is used in job interviews, where some people put on a persona, interviewers will know if the interviewee is telling the truth or not. They could also know if the interviewee gets upset easily or if they are genuine and kind enough to take care of customers.

Guessing candidates’ potential based on their qualifications such as CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER and TOEIC is relatively easy. However, it’s difficult to see their real character or if they are trustworthy in such a short period of time like a job interview.
Yet, if we introduce the technology into our work environment, we won’t have to worry about things such as if the interviewee will follow the rules, if they will get on with other employees, or if they are suited for the company’s culture.

Teal organization

Let’s think about this topic from a different perspective. Another factor that made me think we will focus on emotions more in the future is the emersion of Teal organization. I will briefly explain what it is here. A Teal organization has no hierarchy nor central command and control. It is an organization built on trust, and each person plays their own role. This organizational paradigm has become popular for the past few years. It’s believed to replace the current hierarchy structure in the future.

How is Teal organization related to emotions? If organizations start to change their organization structures from the conventional hierarchy to a Teal organisation, the nature of emotions needed in the organization will also change.

In a hierarchical, center command and control structure, we have no choice but to follow what higher-ups tell us to do. This ends up dictatorial. Many people stop thinking on their own because they think they have no say. This is a type of human nature that hierarchical structures create when we install the OS of hierarchy.

A Teal organization means changing the OS and its specifications. As a Teal organization has no hierarchy, there is no dictatorship. Climbing the corporate ladder and becoming a leader suited the hierarchy OS but it wouldn’t suit a Teal organization. With the Teal organization OS, we are required to think ourselves and build trust with others. This means we need to improve our personalities and we will pay more attention to our emotions. Taking that into account, I think Teal organization will accelerate this new era of emotions.

Education needs to change

If our society changes as I mentioned above, education will also need some changes. In the conventional school system, following the teachers is important as it reflects the hierarchy of the society. Telling students to follow their teachers is also considered to be a good thing.

However, if more organizations start to implement a Teal organisation, or if a time that interviewers pay more attention to candidates’ personalities in job interviews comes, teachers will need to help students improve their personalities, rather than just assess whether the students are listening to them or not. They should also teach how to build a good relationship in school, which is the most important thing to learn but was rarely taught in school.

Young people putting themselves on a platform such as YouTube is a hint that more people are focusing on individuals’ talents and artistry. I’m excited to see the world moving into a new era centered around creativity and independence from the one we had to kill our emotions and be patient as the society expected us to do so.