Last week at HumanX was filled with stimulating conversations including my fireside chat on the main stage with Adi Ignatius. What stood out to me most wasn’t just the pace of AI innovation, but the shift in conversation from Generative AI (IQ) to coding and agentics (AQ). Most of this still feels transactional but I started to see the inklings of longer term thinking around relational interactions and emotional intelligence (EQ) as well.

At Inflection AI, we’ve believed from the start that AI needs to be human-centered and that IQ alone is not enough. The real differentiator is how well systems understand context, intent, and how to support people and groups in their daily life, the EQ.

In my fireside chat, Adi and I discussed how to build AI with emotional intelligence. AI that gets to know you, and the context and intent that matters to you. A simple example, Pi maps out 88+ emotional states over time in conversations with people to improve understanding and the quality of the conversation. The goal isn't for the AI to mirror your personality back at you sycophantically; it's to know you well enough to be genuinely useful.

We also talked about the future of Human-centered AI and how voice provides a level of  accessibility that can support learning, health, and tools for everyday life. EQ and Human-centered AI as a design discipline, not a feature, so that these aren't just add-ons; they're architectural choices.

It's important that AI truly puts people first.

I’m grateful for the many conversations including the ones at our Human-Centered AI Roundtable, and discussions hosted by Al Gore and Generation Investment Management, Obvious Ventures and HSBC, Cerebral Valley, and of course the amazing HumanX team.

You can watch my fireside chat with Adi here https://lnkd.in/gFUnXcbr