How AI can Improve Human Expression

Very cool. This doctoral thesis on cyborg psychology by Pat Pataranutaporn of MIT Media Lab is jam-packed with specific projects that used AI to support human flourishing, including methodologies and results. Just a few of many fascinating experiments include: 🧠 Wearable Reasoner: Enhancing Rationality Through AI The Wearable Reasoner is a proof-of-concept wearable AI system designed to support human rationality by analyzing verbal arguments for evidence. It uses an argumentation mining algorithm to classify whether statements are supported by evidence and provides real-time explainable feedback to the user via an audio-based interface. The device employs techniques such as explainable AI to ensure users can understand the reasoning behind classifications. Experiments demonstrated its effectiveness in helping users distinguish evidence-supported claims from unsupported ones, fostering critical thinking and improved decision-making. 🎙️ Wearable Wisdom: Context-Aware Advice Delivery Wearable Wisdom is an intelligent, audio-based system that delivers wisdom from mentors or personal heroes based on the user's context and inquiries. Using semantic analysis and context-aware sensing, the system pairs user questions with the most relevant quotes from a database of mentor wisdom. This interaction is provided through audio-augmented reality glasses. Applications include on-demand multi-perspective advice, proactive motivation for behavioral change, and reconnecting users with cultural heritage. User studies highlighted its superior ability to inspire and deliver relevant advice compared to traditional methods. 🔮 Future You: AI-Powered Future Self-Dialogue The Future You platform enables users to engage with a virtual version of their future selves, supported by a large language model and age-progression technology. Users provide personal and goal-oriented data, which is used to simulate a relatable future self, complete with a backstory and visual representation. This intervention was shown to increase future self-continuity (a sense of connection to one's future self), reduce anxiety, and encourage reflective thinking about life goals. 📚 AI-Generated Characters for Learning and Wellbeing AI-generated characters, such as virtual instructors or digital portrayals of historical figures, were developed to enhance engagement in education. These characters provide personalized interactions and foster motivation, positive emotions, and learning outcomes. For example, "Living Memories" allows users to interact with AI-generated historical personas to explore the past and learn interactively. There is so much potential for well-design AI to support human flourishing, if that is our intent.

If your AI brainstorming starts with an AI prompt  such as “give me ideas about for X,” you’re limiting your imagination.  I learned this while working through IDEO U’s Human-Centered Design and AI certificate program, which keeps reminding me that AI only supports creativity when humans stay actively involved. To test this, I ran a small experiment tied to my design challenge: how can nonprofit professionals use AI to augment their thinking so their work becomes more strategic, creative, and human-centered? Here’s what happened. When I began with human-only ideation (my own brain or a brainstorming session with other humans), the ideas were grounded in mission, constraints, and real community needs. When I switched to AI with a clear creative direction to generate ideas, I asked for absurdity.  AI delivered: costume-based learning scenes, dramatic falling sequences, Play-Doh brains, even a human–AI tango. These weren’t solutions or a waste of time. They were creative provocations that loosened up the tight mental space we often operate within. The best ideas emerged only after I cycled through several layers of human grounding, AI variation, and human synthesis. It felt like a club sandwich of thinking modes. Humans brought mission and ethics. AI widened the possibility space. Humans shaped meaning. The infographic (created in Nano Banana) shows the practices that made this work: 💡Begin with human insight. 💡Give AI a clear creative direction. 💡Separate idea expansion from idea selection. 💡Use reflective checkpoints. 💡Treat AI as a partner, not a replacement. This experiment makes me think that the real value of AI in nonprofit brainstorming is less about efficiency and more about expanding imagination. When humans guide the process, AI becomes a thought-partner for more human-centered creativity. What would open up in your work if your organization treated AI as a creative partner instead of a shortcut?

Last week, we explored how robots might move, feel, and understand like humans. Now, we flip the lens and tap into one of the most exciting frontiers in human augmentation: Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). BCIs connect the brain directly to machines, translating neural activity into signals that control computers, devices, or even AI agents. With the rise of Agentic AI, a new possibility is emerging: What if your intentions could become instructions, from brainwaves to prompts, directing AI with intent alone? The most intuitive interface isn’t voice; it’s thought. A Thought-to-Agent Interface (T2A) links your brain activity to an AI Agent in real time, translating mental focus, intention, or emotional state into prompts, actions, or decisions. These are some use-case examples... 🧠 In Work: You're in deep focus. You imagine a slide, your AI Agent starts drafting it. You think of a person; it pulls up your last conversation. 🧠 In Accessibility: For someone unable to speak or type, the interface interprets intent from brain signals and helps control devices, compose messages, or navigate systems. 🧠 In Creativity: A designer imagines a shape, a scene, or a melody, and the AI Agent renders variations in real time, refining the output through guided intent. These are some current research projects... 📚 Meta AI’s Brain-to-Text Decoding: Decodes full sentences from non-invasive brain activity with up to 80% character accuracy, bridging neural intent to digital language. https://lnkd.in/gTEJpa4e 📚 UC Berkeley’s Brain-to-Voice Neuroprosthesis: Translates brain signals into audible speech, restoring naturalistic communication for people with speech loss. https://lnkd.in/g_D3Xeup 📚 Caltech’s Mind-to-Text Interface: Achieves 79% accuracy in translating imagined internal speech into real-time text, enabling seamless brain-to-device communication. https://lnkd.in/gEuVKreq These are some startups to watch... 🚀 Neurable: EEG-based wearables decoding cognitive load & focus in real-time. https://www.neurable.com/ 🚀 OpenBCI: Makers of Galea, a headset combining EEG, EMG, eye tracking, and skin conductance for immersive neural interfacing. https://lnkd.in/girt4PAW 🚀 Cognixion: Brain-powered communication integrated with AR and speech synthesis for non-verbal users. https://www.cognixion.com/ 🚀 Paradromics: High-bandwidth BCI for translating neural activity into speech or system commands for those with severe impairments. https://lnkd.in/giepGKH4 What is a likely time horizon... 1–2 years: Wearable EEG interfaces paired with AI for narrow tasks: adaptive UI, hands-free control, attention-based interaction. 3–5 years: Thought-to-agent pipelines for work, accessibility, and creative tools, personalized to individual brain patterns and cognitive signatures. The future isn’t just AI that understands your prompts. It’s AI that understands you as soon as you think. Next up: Multimodal AI Sensory Fusion (“Glass Whisperer”)

ChatGPT or CoPilot is not you. Isn’t it? We live in a time where AI can finish our sentences, write our emails, analyze the presentations, create summaries and even draft our stories. But let's remember: AI is a tool, not a voice. Your ideas, your instincts, your lived experiences and your uniqueness cannot be replicated by any algorithm. Yes, AI can sharpen them. Yes, it can accelerate them. But it cannot be them. 👉 Let AI be the tool shaping your voice, not be your voice. The spark that matters is still yours. And sometimes, it’s the imperfect, human expressions that connect far deeper than flawless AI-generated lines.

How are AI and synthetic media changing society for the better? It's a question I'm often asked- and from many different examples, accessibility always first comes to mind. For people with a range of disabilities, AI is transforming the way they communicate and interface with a world that for too long hasn't accommodated their needs. A great recent example comes from UK startup Signapse, who generate sign language avatars directly from text and audio sources. This post’s video is from their partnership with a British train service, providing deaf passengers with signed announcements that would usually be inaccessibly played over a speaker in the station. It’s just one of many initiatives and companies making waves in the space: 👓 Danish company Be My Eyes GPT4/O integration and Meta AI on its smart glasses could be huge in helping the visually impaired navigate the world using multi-modal models that provide image and video to narrated text capabilities. 🎤 Project Revoice helps those who have lost the ability to speak preserve the unique sound of their voice (and a critical part of their identity) by building personalised text-to-speech models. 💬 LLMs and apps like Inner Voice, Inc. have become invaluable to some neurodiverse users who struggle with situations such as formal writing and navigating social situations. There are still questions about chatbots being used in therapeutic contexts, but for many, they provide a helpful, non-judgemental, and personalised assistant for navigating life. Parts of my expertise and work focus on addressing the misuse of AI and synthetic media, which leads many to assume I must be a total ‘doomer’ or a pessimist about the technology. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m incredibly optimistic about the ability of AI and synthetic media to open opportunities and experiences to those who have historically been left out, from accessibility and education to healthcare and creativity. It doesn’t negate the challenges of misuse, but when developed responsibly and with prosocial aims, generative AI can (and I believe will!) change our world for the better in many ways. #AI #accessibility #generativeAI #innovation #syntheticmedia

Everyone's using AI to write faster. The best leaders are using it to sound more human. As a communications strategist and LinkedIn Learning Instructor, I've watched AI transform workplace communication, but not in the way most people think. The real power isn't in letting AI write for you. It's in using AI to amplify what makes you irreplaceable: your clarity, your empathy, your voice. My most-used prompt? 👉🏽 "Help me simplify this message so it's clear, confident, and human." That one sentence saves me hours while keeping my communication authentic. It's a reminder that the best AI doesn't replace you, it reveals you more clearly. Here's the skill gap no one's talking about: humanizing AI outputs. Anyone can generate text. But leaders who can take that output and infuse it with empathy, nuance, and authenticity? They're the ones building trust in an AI-powered world. Your humanity isn't just your competitive edge, it's what AI can never replicate. What's one way you're using AI without losing your authentic voice? Drop it in the comments. 👇🏽 📸 Teaching an AI + Content Creation workshop in partnership with Richland Library #AIinWork #LinkedInLearning #Communication #AI #Leadership

AI has made it easier than ever to produce content quickly, clearly, and at scale. The challenge, however, is that the same efficiency that improves output can also quietly dilute originality if it is not used intentionally. Over time, it becomes easy to rely on AI not just for structure or refinement, but for direction itself. When that happens, the work may appear polished and coherent, but it often begins to lose distinction. It sounds correct, but not necessarily personal. It communicates, but it does not always connect. Maintaining your voice in this environment requires a deliberate approach. It starts with ensuring that your thinking comes before the tool. When AI becomes the starting point, it shapes the narrative in ways that are subtle but significant. When your ideas lead, AI can support, refine, and expand them without replacing them. It is also important to use AI as a way to challenge your perspective rather than substitute it. Asking better questions, testing assumptions, and refining clarity can elevate your thinking, but the core ideas should still originate from you. Equally important is the editing process. While AI can improve clarity and structure, it cannot replicate your tone, your emphasis, or the nuances that make your communication recognizable. Preserving those elements requires intentional adjustment rather than blind acceptance of generated output. There is also value in knowing when to stop refining. Over-optimization often removes the very elements that make content feel human. Not everything needs to be perfectly structured to be effective, especially when authenticity is what creates connection. Ultimately, the goal is not just to produce more, but to produce work that remains distinctly yours. AI can enhance your output, but only if it is used in a way that supports your voice rather than replaces it. When you look at your recent work, does it sound more like you, or more like the tool you are using? #AI #ContentCreation #PersonalBrand #Creativity #FutureOfWork

🎨 AI Cannot Replace Human Creativity 💡 AI can generate images, write text, compose music, and analyze data at incredible speed. But speed is not the same as creativity. Creativity is rooted in: • Lived experience • Emotion and intuition • Cultural context • Curiosity, doubt, and contradiction AI recombines patterns from the past. Humans imagine what doesn’t exist yet. AI can assist, inspire, and amplify ideas but it doesn’t feel tension, take meaning-driven risks, or create with purpose. The real opportunity isn’t choosing between humans or AI. ▶️It’s humans + AI. When people use AI as a creative partner not a replacement we unlock new levels of expression, productivity, and innovation. The human sets the vision. The machine accelerates the execution. In a world obsessed with automation, creativity remains our unfair advantage. ✨ The future belongs to those who know how to think, feel, and imagine and how to use AI as a tool, not a substitute. What’s your take: where should AI stop and human creativity begin? ▶️ Jonathan Valladares MBA, MSc, MBB

We’ve reached the point where AI can churn out blog posts, graphics, even entire presentations in minutes. The temptation is to think that creativity is no longer scarce. But the truth is – creativity is more valuable than ever. Because AI can’t replace the subtlety of lived experience, the humor that lands perfectly in the moment, or the emotional pull of a story rooted in something real. When you present your work to a hiring manager or client, don’t just show the polished AI output. Pull back the curtain: Explain the strategic thinking that led you to ask the right questions of the AI. Share the human insight that helped you discard the generic options and go in a bolder direction. Highlight how you combined tech-generated material with your personal expertise to make something memorable. For example, an AI might generate 20 headline options for a campaign. A creative human will know that only one of them will resonate with the target audience – and will tweak it so it feels like it was written just for them. Hiring managers are scanning for people who can blend tool fluency with originality. If you can use AI to get 80% of the way there – and your human touch to take it the final 20% – you’re in the sweet spot where innovation lives.