Humans v. Technology: Why Connection is key

Offices, the high street, the way we travel: it all feels like the way we work, the way we live, and the places we go are all changing at an alarming rate, aided by technology. And in that space that change creates, fear can seep in. However, what is it that we’re afraid of losing and what gains can change bring?

AI: Fear or FOMO?

I have a lot of discussions about AI as part of our work, and I hear a lot of fear and suspicion that can be broken down into two camps. Firstly, the fear that AI is going to take away humanity’s spirit and jobs, boiling us all down into a pot of sameness where regurgitation has devoured originality. And secondly, a strong sense of ‘I can’t get my head around something new’. There is merit and discussion in both of these camps, but the thread that runs through them both is fear: fear of being left behind, fear of being usurped, and fear of not understanding.

And the antidote to this is power: the power in knowing how to use tools to aid your needs, the power in finding ways to be part of the conversation, and the power in deciding your direction of travel. 

What does this mean for brands?

It is the same in business: brands see an ever changing landscape that has not morphed into its new shape post-pandemic and we have seen the collapse of big stalwart brands who failed to adapt. Nokia and Blockbuster were once household names, with nothing more joyful than hitting a high score on a game of snake on your 3210 before going to rent a movie at a Blockbuster shop on a Friday night. But they failed to innovate, and now Netflix and iPhones are household names, with Nokia and Blockbuster, despite attempts to revive them, exist firmly in the past.

The Science of Human Connection

At a recent talk at the Royal Society of Arts, of which I’m a Fellow, a neuroscientist who works in tech, Dr Danbee ‘Tauntaun’ Kim recently gave a fascinating talk which covered the three parts of vertebrate brains. Some of these three parts, Dr Danbee said, controlled what went on ‘below the nose’ from the mouth down and, amongst the wonder that our brain can do, remembering the magic of this part can remind us that the ‘robot overlords’ can’t take away our essence. Whilst the majority of our brain is taken up with complex functions such as the creation of memories and big thinking, this lower part grounds us in physical need and the ability to ground us in our surroundings, providing those connections that spark so much of the human experience.

This understanding of our fundamental human wiring - how we process, feel, and connect - directly shapes how brands should approach their audience. At Studio Lawen, we see how the most successful purpose-driven companies tap into these basic human needs for connection and meaning. When we work with clients to find their 'why', we're not just crafting marketing messages - we're uncovering the authentic human experiences that make their brand matter.

A large part of Studio Lawen’s work is to find this connection: to use storytelling to find your why and why it should matter to others, and to package this in a way that clearly makes sense. We do this through exploratory conversations with our clients and through using our experiences and perspective to weave the threads together, with nothing as powerful as the spark of an idea and a gut reaction. 

There is always the opportunity to discover and connect, and this is something that technology can supplement but not replace. So whilst technology can impact our lives, through innovations such as digital healthcare and the now so familiar online shopping, its power is in providing tools that can aid our lives and meet our access needs. 

Technology as an Enabler, Not a Replacement

One example of the blend of technology and experience is the work of experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. I first experienced their work in their breathtaking show We Live in an Ocean of Air at the Saatchi Gallery in 2019 and most recently at their show Evolver. Their show Evolver piece centres on the human body and the breath, blood and cells that courses through our body. That sentence does no justice to the vibrancy that their experience gives you - an immersive journey in virtual reality through your body, with a mixture of colour, tempo and audio transporting you along a swirling path that makes you visceral understand the powerful work that takes place within our bodies every second. 

What you leave with is having experienced something: something that you can interpret, that you can talk about with others, that you can ponder for the way it made you feel rather than the facts that it communicated to you. A poster would not have been as engaging, a film would not have been so dynamic: their use of technology created an experience in a communal space that drew you out to experience something new.

And that is where the magic lives. Creating community through harnessing novelty.

Action Steps for Brands

So, what can brands learn from this? No matter your industry, sector or service offering, the experience that your customers have when they interact with your brand matters. What you offer, how you offer it, and how you treat your customers matters. And technology is part of this - are you using technology to improve your customer’s experience? Does it feel seamless for your customer, or are they spotting the joins? And are you harnessing future thinking with clever data to ensure that your future roadmap is mapped and achievable? 

If you’re not, then what are you waiting for? Let’s work together.