Human connection is an urgent business investment in the AI era

Over the last decade, we have been perfecting the algorithms of convenience, and in doing so we have inadvertently moved away from the frequent human interactions that sustain our communities and our workplaces.  Throughout my 25-year career in philanthropy, I have worked on challenges like climate change, gun violence prevention, chronic disease prevention, and closing the opportunity gap for workers. While these issues are undeniably critical, I truly believe we cannot solve them in a vacuum of social isolation. We have created a world of unprecedented digital convenience—we use grocery delivery apps, self-checkout lines, streaming services, and text messages, versus phone calls. We are now hyperconnected online, and yet experiencing the highest reported rates of both loneliness and anxiety in recorded history. The World Health Organization Commission on Social Connection has determined that loneliness affects nearly one in six people globally. The rise of generative AI and AI c