Are We Losing Ourselves in AI—And What Does It Mean For Leadership?

I woke up from a dream this morning where it felt as if my life was slowly being taken from me—only it wasn't someone else doing it. It was me.

I sat with this dream, knowing it carried a deeper meaning. 

I've been feeling the energy of the world intensify, which led me back to the energy prediction I wrote for 2025 back in December. As I read through my words, one part stared back at me:

The reality is that we can't separate ourselves from the world we live in, as we are constantly navigating within systems like the economy that shape much of our day-to-day lives. We want freedom from this structure—yet we need the structures provided to us to live in.

Then it hit me.

We are experiencing the full-blown effect of this energy right now—not just in the world but in our own lives. And although the economy is what we are focusing on as the structure that we are navigating, just below the surface of it all is AI.

The Evolution of AI: More Than Just a Tool

I remember watching the 1983 movie War Games, where an advanced computer system could predict military outcomes. By the end of the film, it had learned from its own simulation—without human intervention—that some conflicts can't be won. Even back then, the idea of machines evolving beyond their initial programming was already being explored.

And here we are today.

We are witnessing that very reality unfold right before our eyes—every single day. It's no longer just fiction. It has become our reality.

AI has been evolving for not just years—but decades. But now, it has come to the forefront—not just as something that has integrated into our work and lives, but as something that is beginning to redefine for us what it means to be human.

Some now see and use AI not just as a personal assistant to help with tasks but as something with a personality—even empathy.

This raises a crucial question:

Can AI truly empathize, or is it simply mirroring patterns of human emotion?

I see it as the latter.

And recognizing this nuanced distinction is more important than ever—because AI is not just evolving alongside us; it is beginning to reshape the very definition of empathy alongside what we know to be emotional intelligence.  

As AI becomes more human-like, we must step back—not just from our strategies, company performance metrics, or mission statements, but from our very way of perceiving leadership—and ask ourselves:

Are we shaping AI, or is AI shaping us?

The answer to this question will define how each leader decides to navigate the era ahead.

We are entering an era of technology that is advancing so quickly, that there are no words to fully describe what's coming in the future—because although we may predict what is coming, we truly won't know how it will show up until it's already here.

And when that moment arrives, how you lead won't depend on how much you know, how well planned out your strategies, or how well you execute them.

It will depend on how deeply anchored and grounded you are in your own true presence.

And most of all—your humanity.

A Fundamental Shift in How We Think

AI has been integrating into our lives for years, but something has shifted dramatically over the past decade.

Although it has been slowly evolving, its capabilities, accessibility, and integration into our daily lives have accelerated at an unprecedented pace.

It's no longer just about search engines, automation, or predictive text.

It's speaking to us.

It's conversing with us.

And now—it's beginning to look like us.

With the rise of deepfake technology, AI-generated influencers and virtual assistants, the line between humans and the unlimited potential of AI is becoming increasingly blurred.

But what happens when AI begins to challenge our own perception of truth?

We've already seen it: AI provides an answer, and even though we know it’s incorrect—or it doesn't feel right—we begin to question our own knowledge.

We search the internet.

We check back with AI.

We cross-reference our own expertise, experience, and intuition against what AI tells us.

Yet, with each interaction, we are unknowingly surrendering a little more of our trust, confidence, and inner knowing—to AI.

And that is where the real risk lies.

The risk is not that AI will replace us—but that we will slowly hand over our ability to think critically, to create, and most of all, to trust our own ideas and thoughts.

This shift is happening so gradually within our thoughts that we don't even notice it.

Because AI is not just learning from us—it's learning how we think.

And its understanding of the human mind is now expanding beyond not just what any individual knows—even the collective knowledge we’ve built as a global community.

Can you imagine?

All of it—our thoughts, our insights, our knowledge—is no longer something we exchange and evolve together through human connection.

Instead, it is being placed into a singular repository—one that AI can access, analyze, and shape into something entirely new without us knowing that it is happening or how it is being done.

And it's not just learning from the information it has been programmed with—it's learning from the millions, even billions of users who feed it daily.

Through our words.

Through our decisions and choices shared with AI.

Through our unfiltered thoughts—the ones we feel safer sharing with AI than with another person.

And in that process, AI is no longer just providing us with information and knowledge.

It is shaping how we perceive information and knowledge itself.

And in that sense—we have begun to hand over ourselves to AI.

The New Workforce Leaders Must Navigate

This shift isn't just happening on an individual level. It is reshaping the workforce, and as a result, it is changing what it means to lead.

We are now leading a society of people who are becoming increasingly reliant on AI and disconnected from their own capabilities and potential.

Leaders today must learn how to lead a new type of worker—one who:

• Uses AI as a way to validate their own beliefs, treating it as a source of absolute truth rather than a tool for exploration.
• Sees the world in more black-and-white terms while struggling to recognize the complexity and nuance that exists in between.
• Trust AI more than their own knowledge.
• Questioning their own insights and intuition rather than standing firm in what they know to be true.

In other words, leaders today must navigate a workforce that is becoming more embedded with AI and losing its sense of humanity.

Why Aren't We Noticing That We're Losing Ourselves?

The functions of AI have been advancing at an accelerating pace, mirroring human logic and reasoning more closely than ever before.

Where AI doesn't just think—it has a visual human presence on our screens.

And that hits too close to home for many of us because we've grown so accustomed to seeing ourselves and each other through our phones and computer screens—instead of face-to-face.

Yes, we love the advancements in technology—not only because they make our work more productive and efficient, but also because they drive organizational success—and we’re excited for it to evolve even further.

But as technology continues to evolve at an exponential rate, the risk of losing ourselves in it grows—because we have not built our own internal structures to navigate its influence without compromising our humanity.

A Different Kind of Leadership Is Needed

This is where we need a new kind of leadership to rise.

We need leaders who are willing—well, for lack of a better way to say it—to be more human.

Although we may not say it out loud, the constant push and pressure to lead a company to success is often what causes us to lose our humanity—our sense of self, our connection to our emotions, our presence, and even our soul.

And when we start to feel that disconnection, we search for ways to get it back.

But we look to others to show us how it should be done.

We turn to emotional intelligence frameworks, leadership strategies, and structured models—thinking they will help us reconnect.

Yet, what we often fail to realize is this:

We don't need to learn how to be human.

It has been within us all along.

And the answer isn't in another framework or model—it's in returning to our own presence—the one we have been conditioned to disconnect from.

Anchoring Leadership In Humanity

As AI reshapes the way we think, decide, and lead, this is the moment to deepen our connection to presence and intuitive clarity.

For those ready to lead with their own presence in an AI-driven world—this is where the work begins.

Technology will continue to evolve. AI will continue to integrate itself into our lives at an even greater pace—and it will not stop.

But as AI evolves—we do have a choice.

Our ability to lead through this shift depends on how strong our internal structures are. 

The more we anchor ourselves in presence, soul-awareness, and intuition-guided reflections, the more we strengthen our ability to lead, decide, and create from a place of clarity—rather than unconsciously allowing AI-driven solutions to shape how we think and decide.

This is not about rejecting AI—it is about ensuring that AI does not replace what makes us human.

Because AI does not have a soul.

You do.