Don’t Let AI Take Your Humanity | Aaron Robbins | TEDxClaremont Graduate University

"Don’t Let AI Take Your Humanity" looks beyond the headlines about artificial intelligence replacing jobs and asks a deeper question: what is AI quietly doing to us? While history suggests that disruptive technology reshapes work and creates new industries, this moment feels different. As AI becomes capable of thinking, writing, deciding, and even communicating for us, the risk may not be unemployment, but disengagement from our own growth and relationships. Drawing on the science of human motivation and the three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—this talk explores how AI can either strengthen our capacity to choose, learn, and connect, or slowly erode the very conditions that help us thrive. The future of AI isn’t just about what it can produce. It’s about preserving our humanity. Aaron Robbins is a leadership consultant, researcher, and founder of Intrinsic First, where he helps organizations build stronger leaders and healthier workplace cultures using the science of human motivation. With a background spanning engineering, executive leadership, and organizational psychology, he bridges the technical and human sides of performance. Aaron is currently pursuing a PhD in Organizational Behavior Psychology and is the creator of an AI-powered leadership practice platform designed to help people strengthen—not outsource—their critical skills. His work explores how emerging technologies like AI can either erode or elevate the psychological foundations that help us thrive. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx