Spotlight on black gradient background. Image by rarinlada via Adobe Stock.
Ann Skeet is the senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are her own.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) will bring sea changes to a number of industries, if we’re to believe the hype around its potential applications in society. My hope is that we can be judicious about where and how we develop it, not only to be kinder to our environment given the significant energy and water use of this rapidly developing technology, but also so we do not lose some of the basic connections between humans that are so vital to our healthy relationships and so illustrative of the best qualities we want to preserve in humanity.
Let me share a reaction I had as I experienced a recent cultural touchstone, the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live (SNL). For people of a certain age, there was much to delight in the weekend-long celebration of this American sketch comedy show. It began with a concert of musical performances by artists of various genres, evoking fond memories and connections to the show. Because I grew up with five decades of SNL, I was thoroughly entertained by all the performances from the Backstreet Boys, a 1990s boy band, to Cher, an iconic star with number one singles spanning seven decades.
But, I was deeply touched at moments as well, and none so much as watching Bonnie Raitt perform, accompanied on piano by Chris Martin, the lead singer for the British rock band, Coldplay. Martin did not sing. He had no moment of his own on the stage. He joined the evening solely to accompany Raitt on her second song of the concert, “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” It was beautiful, not only because of the music and the melody, but because of Martin’s willingness to play an assisting role, on a night when so many other stars who also made the effort to be there had the spotlight.
As I watched Martin play, I couldn’t help but think what a great example he was setting for all of us, as he contributed his talent to making Raitt shine and receive the audience’s appreciation for her set. He was showing us that you don’t need to be the front man to do something meaningful; sometimes the best acts of leadership can happen while that spotlight is on someone else. There were other moments throughout the anniversary weekend where iconic stars had the stage for just seconds, but were still willing to contribute to the chemistry between performers that must happen for a sketch comedy show to work.
Will such moments exist if we turn over our creativity to more technological innovation than already exists in music and the arts? Will impressionable young people have the chance to see such humility and generosity of spirit demonstrated by someone they revere for other talents? Will they see actors build off of one another’s hilarious moments to make us all laugh? How will live performance be changed by AI?
Artificial intelligence can generate new music but it is unlikely to replace live performances or the magic of timing that creates great comedy. While some may feel AI cannot threaten these intangible moments of artistic excellence, what it can do to the underlying business models of the recording industry or television can have the same impact, say, that the internet has had on journalism. We still have great journalists, but I would argue we don’t have enough well-resourced reporters and editors to fulfill the public watchdog role that is so vital to a functioning democracy. The journalism profession has now been under siege for the last two decades.
If AI creates similar market forces for the entertainment industry, we may not see too many moments like the one between Martin and Raitt. Indeed, AI cannot honor another human being’s body of work in the way Martin did. It might be able to accompany Raitt well enough musically, but the moment would be lost. Martin’s humility would not be seen and appreciated and the connection between the two musicians would not exist. What Martin was saying with his presence spoke even more profoundly than the beautiful song he was helping to create.
We need humans to honor another person’s dignity. The very act of respecting someone so much you will let them have their moment in the spotlight is uniquely human and deeply compelling. It reminds us that we are here for others. People lead when they have self-awareness combined with gifts and the ability to bring others along with them. Technologies can change the medium by which people experience personal leadership, but they shouldn’t be allowed to erase its fundamental message. We should not buy into the ubiquity of AI’s capacities. To do so would miss the honoring of the balladeer and the gentle image of humble leadership.
