What Makes Us Human? How We Differ From Artificial Intelligence

Source: DALL-E / OpenAI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting smarter, faster, and more integrated into our daily lives. It can mimic human conversation, diagnose diseases, generate art, and even pass professional exams. AI-powered assistants, chatbots, and agents will soon become so convincing that many people may struggle to tell whether they’re interacting with a person or a machine.

But as AI becomes more advanced and woven into the fabric of society, it raises a big question: What truly makes us human, and why does it matter?

Why Should We Care About the Differences Between Humans and Machines?

In a world where AI can mimic our words, automate our decisions, and even simulate emotions, understanding what sets us apart isn’t just philosophical. It’s deeply practical. Knowing what makes us unquestionably different from intelligent machines determines how we lead, how we connect, and how we navigate an increasingly digital world, all without losing what gives meaning to life.

Knowing what makes us uniquely human helps us protect and even expand our most valuable strengths—our creativity, emotional intelligence, lived experiences, and sense of purpose—so that we don’t just coexist with AI, but rise above it, shaping the future instead of being shaped by it.

Here are six “irreplaceable human attributes” or “IHAs” as I call them:

1. We Feel. AI Simulates.

As I’ve written about before, AI can recognize emotions. It can analyze facial expressions, tone of voice, and language to determine whether someone is happy, sad, or angry. But AI doesn’t inherently “feel” anything. It doesn’t experience joy when solving a problem or heartbreak when facing loss. It may analytically understand the definition of those feelings, but that’s different from truly feeling them.

Human emotions are deeply tied to our biology, memories, and personal experiences. When we feel something, it’s not just a data point—it’s a lived experience shaped by hormones, neurological processes, and past interactions.

2. We Have Real Life Experiences. AI Has Data.

As I describe in my book Experiential Intelligence, experience is one of the most powerful things that shapes us, from the moment we’re born. Every failure, success, and challenge rewires our brains and influences our future decisions. This is what I’ve written about extensively and call experiential intelligence (XQ)—the ability to apply life experiences to understand current challenges, make decisions, and navigate complex situations.

AI, on the other hand, doesn’t have experience—it has data. It can analyze millions of past scenarios, but it doesn’t actually go through anything in real life. It doesn’t learn from pain, joy, failure, or success the way humans do. Experience isn’t just about information—it’s about personal growth.

3. We Seek Meaning. AI Follows Instructions.

Humans are wired for meaning. We search for purpose in our work, relationships, and even the challenges we face. We create stories to make sense of the world, find purpose in struggle, and connect our past to our future.

AI doesn’t seek meaning—it follows algorithms. It doesn’t wonder about “the why” behind what it does. It doesn’t feel a sense of accomplishment or loss. It processes requests and generates responses, but it doesn’t care about the outcome beyond the goals that it’s pre-programmed to achieve.

4. We Are Emotionally Creative. AI Remixes.

AI can generate music, paintings, and even poetry. And people may indeed mistake AI-generated art for that created by humans. But AI doesn’t create in the way humans do. AI remixes and integrates, pulling from existing patterns in data. Human creativity, on the other hand, is deeply tied to emotions, personal experiences, and a desire to express something unique.

Great art, literature, and music have always originated from the human experience. The pain of heartbreak, the joy of discovery, the mystery of the unknown—these are things AI will never feel, so the emotion that underlies the products of human creativity will always remain uniquely human.

5. We Have Free Will. AI Has Code.

Artificial Intelligence Essential Reads

4 Steps to Overcome AI-Induced Imposter Syndrome

The AI Oscillation Trap: Stuck Between AI and Autonomy

Humans make choices. We change our minds, act against logic, and do things that don’t always make sense. We can choose generosity over self-interest, forgiveness over revenge, and innovation over conformity.

AI follows rules. No matter how advanced, it is always bound by its programming. It doesn’t have desires, beliefs, or independent thought. While AI can mimic unpredictability, it doesn’t make decisions outside of its parameters.

6. We Are Conscious. AI Is a Tool.

The biggest difference? We are aware of ourselves. AI can recognize itself as AI, but it doesn’t have consciousness. It currently doesn’t reflect on its own existence, question its purpose, or wonder about what comes next.

Human consciousness is still a mystery. Scientists don’t fully understand why we are aware of ourselves. This self-awareness is at the core of what makes us human.

Navigating Life in an Age of AI

As AI continues to evolve, it will become harder to distinguish between what is real and what is artificial. AI will answer our questions, anticipate our needs, and simulate emotions so well that many people will mistake it for real human interaction.

As AI advances, the most important thing you can do isn’t to compete with it. It’s to double down on what makes you irreplaceably human.

Here’s how:

1. Strengthen emotional intelligence: AI will never feel empathy the way humans do. The ability to connect, lead, and understand people will be a key advantage.
2. Leverage experiential intelligence: Your unique experiences give you insights that no AI can replicate. Remain present and conscious of how your life experience informs your thoughts, desires, and actions.
3. Seek meaning and purpose: AI doesn’t care about purpose, but we do. Engage in meaningful work, relationships, and activities that align with your values.
4. Master creativity and innovation: AI can generate ideas, but humans create with emotion and intention. Push beyond predictable thinking by connecting emotions to creative solutions.
5. Reveal and rethink assumptions: AI follows logic. Humans question, explore, and challenge. Our ability to identify and rethink assumptions is one of our greatest assets.

How to Stay Indispensably Human in a Machine-Driven World

AI may be extraordinarily useful and helpful, and even feel eerily lifelike. But AI will likely never provide what makes us human—authentic empathy, true love, meaningful purpose, and the emotional relationships and life experiences that shape ourselves and our understanding of the world.

As AI continues to infiltrate every aspect of life, the most important thing we can do is recognize and embrace what sets us apart, even while we use AI to make our lives more efficient and better. The more we embrace and value our own and others’ emotional depth, lived experiences, and creative potential, the more we ensure that technology will serve humanity—not the other way around.