Stop Optimising. Start Humanising. The Capabilities We Need in an AI World
AI is accelerating. Change is constant. And everywhere we look, we’re being told to optimise, automate and become more productive.
But what if the capabilities we need most in the future aren’t technical at all?
In this episode of the Change It Podcast, I’m joined by Dara Simkin, globally recognised play-at-work expert and co-author of Full Stack Human, to explore what it means to stay human in an increasingly automated world.
Dara shares why we may be misdiagnosing resistance to change, and why many people are actually experiencing anticipatory grief for a future they can sense but cannot yet see.
Together, we explore the human capabilities that will help us not just survive change, but thrive through it:
• Why play is a serious capability, not a distraction
• How curiosity unlocks better thinking and innovation
• Why intelligent optimism matters in a world full of uncertainty
• How we build strategic hope and agency during disruption
• Why adaptability starts with understanding ourselves
For change leaders and transformation professionals, this conversation is a powerful reminder that the future of work will not just be shaped by what technology can do.
It will be shaped by how well humans can connect, create, question, adapt and evolve.
Because perhaps the answer isn’t becoming more machine-like.
Perhaps it’s becoming more human.
In this episode:
— The emotional side of AI: are we resisting change or grieving it?
— Why compassion and understanding ourselves matters in times of uncertainty
— Play as the antidote to optimisation and overwhelm
— Bringing play into the workplace: permission, space and spark
— The five human capabilities we need in an AI world
— Radical curiosity, intelligent optimism and strategic hope
— Embodied adaptability: moving from panic and perfection into play
— What this means for change leaders and the future of transformation
— Defining success differently and finding more ease in uncertainty
Connect with Dara:
Website: darasimkin.com
LinkedIn: Dara Simkin
Book: Full Stack Human: https://www.amazon.com.au/Full-Stack-Human-Mindset-Technology/dp/1394346255
Connect with Eloise:
Founder of Change It Talent www.changeittalent.com
Host of the Change It Podcast
