Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a central topic of technical discussions these days but also comes up in the business world. AI technology has been in existence for a while but as of late is seeing immense growth. Existing AI applications that interface with people include SIRI, Alexa, GPS driven maps, facial recognition and Chatbots that provide customer support. As we move into the future, we will see AI more responsible for critical processes handling work without a human behind it.
While there is much debate on how far AI should go, businesses who use the technology to interface with customers would do well to ask if Emotional Intelligence is included in their responses. The machine behind the AI will recognize patterns, make decisions and judgements like humans but ability to apply the proper emotional response and critical thinking may not be there.
Take Interpersonal Relationships, one aspect of EQ. It refers to the ability to develop and maintain a mutual satisfying relationship evident by trust and compassion. If you are using AI in your business, you have control over how answers and solutions are delivered to your customer. Using dialogue that may be offensive to the customer is considered low EQ. Think about a time you made a call to a company for help and the phone was picked up by an AI system asking you questions.
The frustration grows as the electronic voice on the other end asks the same questions repeatedly. I’ve had some systems simply hang-up. Providing a branch to a live person can relieve the frustration. Empathy, another important trait of EQ is the ability to understand or appreciate how others feel. Whether you are on with a chatbot or trying to get a tool like SIRI to understand what you need, there are times when a real person with feelings is needed. Depending on the type of business, this can be more critical to have this added functionality.
Applying EQ into something that has no emotions is a difficult task unless it’s Robby the Robot. However the creator behind the AI functions can keep this in mind as they design the systems. It’s a good reason to take time to ensure your own EQ skills are sharpened.
