Digital doesn’t mean detached: AI, empathy, and the future of engagement

While AI enables us to reach more people more efficiently than ever before, the risk is that we lose emotional nuance, community connection, and trust in the process. The key is not resisting AI, it’s embedding empathy into how we use it. As AI becomes embedded in how we engage communities and supporters, many organisations face a challenge: how do we embrace innovation without losing emotional intelligence, values, or trust? This talk explores how digital leaders, particularly in the charity sectors, can use AI not to replace human connection, but to deepen it. This is a practical, reflective talk for digital leaders navigating rapid change offering real-world lessons, questions still in progress, and a call to embed empathy not just in our outputs, but in our process of adapting to AI.