WHY AI CAN'T REPLACE HUMAN CONNECTION
- Derek Hagen
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 23
❝Texting is a brilliant way to miscommunicate how you feel, and mistinterpret what other people mean.❞ -unknown
Words are easy, but it's the other 93% that really matters.
You’ve probably had it happen: You send a text that feels perfectly fine, only to have someone read it the wrong way. Or maybe you’ve received a message that hit you funny, even though the sender meant no harm.
That’s because words don’t carry everything. They miss tone. They miss body language. They miss the look in someone’s eyes when they say something hard—or something kind.
And now, in a world where we talk more through screens and keyboards—and where artificial intelligence is starting to “talk” too—it’s getting even harder to hear what people really mean.
We can’t type in our tone of voice. We can’t attach body language. And we can’t see those things in AI either.
So much of what makes us human is getting left out.
THERE'S MORE TO COMMUNICATION THAN JUST WORDS
There’s a model about communication that’s always stuck with me. It says:
55% of what we communicate is through body language
38% is how we say things—our tone, volume, and pacing
Only 7% is the actual words we use
That’s right—just 7%.
Picture three people saying the exact same thing, but each has a different expression. Feels totally different.
Now imagine they all have the same face, but different gestures. Again, completely different vibes.
Even how someone says something can change its meaning. A pause. A whisper. A laugh in the middle of a sentence. All those things say something.
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WHY AI CAN'T REPLACE HUMAN CONNECTION
Here’s the thing about AI: it’s great with words. That’s its whole thing. But words are just one tiny piece of how we communicate.
AI can’t see the look on your face.
It doesn’t hear the warmth—or the worry—in your voice.
It doesn’t know when you’re holding back tears, or smiling through them.
And when we only communicate with text, we don’t just lose nuance—we stop practicing how to notice it.
Emotional intelligence—the ability to read between the lines, to pick up on how someone’s really doing—is like a muscle. And if we don’t use it, it fades.
If we only talk through screens and rely on AI to fill in the blanks, we lose something precious.
It’s not about giving up technology. It’s about remembering who we are.
So yes—use AI. It can be helpful. Send that quick text. It’s convenient. But also…
Have the real conversation.
Sit with someone.
Make eye contact.
Let your voice carry care.
Let your presence do the talking.
Because in a world where the words are easy, it’s the other 93% that really matters.
And maybe now... more than ever... we have a chance to practice it.
You get one life; live intentionally.
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REFERENCES AND INFLUENCES
Klontz, Brad, Rick Kahler & Ted Klontz: Facilitating Financial Health
