I have been nodding along to "AI will make us more human" for months without really feeling it.

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Until recently. When a few things happened back to back and it finally clicked in a way I have not been able to stop thinking about.

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The Devil Wears Prada 2 Moment

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It started with a movie. I have watched Devil Wears Prada 2 three times now and I ten out of ten recommend it. But there is one scene I keep coming back to.

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Miranda Priestly, someone who has given her entire life to her craft, who is the industry, suddenly answers to a tech bro who took over the holding company. Vuori. Lululemon. Golf attire. Zero appreciation for the art. The McKinsey consultants come in. Costs get cut. And you watch these deeply knowledgeable, soulful people having to adapt to a world that is increasingly obsessed with efficiency and scale at the expense of everything that made their work beautiful.

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I sat with that for a while.

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Are we pursuing optimization and digital efficiency at the expense of what makes our souls come alive? What makes us human? That question hit me harder than I expected.

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The Experience That Made It Real

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Shortly after watching the movie I had a client call that brought it all home.

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The person on the other end made zero effort to connect with me. Zero. Then their assistant followed up saying they enjoyed the conversation. I remember thinking, I did not enjoy that conversation. It felt hollow. Automated. Like going through motions.

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And I realized: in a relationship-based business, if you are not going above and beyond to create genuine human connection right now, you are going to fall completely flat. Because AI is making generic outreach so easy that everyone is doing it. And everyone can feel it.

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Are we so busy, so in demand, so optimized that we are actually jeopardizing the human connection our entire business is built on?

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How I Am Using AI to Get More Human

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Here is the flip side of all of this.

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I literally could not run Wonderlab without AI. I dedicate 30 minutes a day to learning new AI skills because it gives me back that much time and capacity. I have set up Cowork agents that handle my CRM and workflows. And because of that, last week I was completely present at the park playing Spider-Man with my three year old. No mental load. No to-do list running in the background of my brain. Just me and my kid.

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That is what AI does when you use it right. It creates space. And space is where the human stuff actually happens.

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The Bar Just Got Higher

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Here is what I want every advisor and service professional to understand right now.

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The bar for human connection just got higher. Not lower. AI is making human-made things more valuable, not less. A handwritten note stands out more than it ever has. Genuine specificity, knowing your client's spouse's name, their kids' names, what they mentioned in passing six months ago, that is your single biggest competitive advantage right now. Because most people are not doing it.

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I send handwritten notes to every single podcast guest. It has deepened relationships, generated referrals, and created real partnerships in ways I did not fully expect. I recently picked up making handmade jewelry as a hobby and when someone notices a piece and I tell them I made it, you can feel the energy shift in the room. That is the human element. You cannot automate that feeling.

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Five Practical Things to Do This Week

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These are not complicated. They just require intention.

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Block 30 minutes on your calendar to learn one new AI skill. Send one handwritten note to someone in your network, a client, a referral partner, someone you appreciate. Know the details about the people you serve and make sure you know them cold. Let AI carry your mental load so you can be more present. And go above and beyond with one person this week in a way they will remember.

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Easy things. But they speak loudly right now because most people are not doing them.

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Be the person who does.

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Full episode is live now on Beyond Referrals, Episode 24, available wherever you listen.