“I chose to take the name Leo XIV… because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.” — Pope Leo XIV.
The new Pope hasn’t minced words. His message is clear: Artificial intelligence represents an industrial revolution that demands an equally revolutionary response from us.
A Universal Technology Needs a Universal Human Response
“Success in creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation,” said Professor Stephen Hawking. “But it could also be the last – unless we learn how to avoid the risks. Alongside the benefits, AI will also bring dangers like powerful autonomous weapons or new ways for the few to oppress the many.
As AI becomes ubiquitous, what will be our human response?
The answer lies in making Human-Centred Design (HCD) equally universal within our organisations.
Why HCD Is Our Best Response to AI
The Vatican’s recent analysis on artificial intelligence didn’t just suggest HCD as a nice-to-have—it positioned it as essential for our collective future:
“AI should not be seen as an artificial form of human intelligence but as a product of it… It must be directed by human intelligence to align with [the human] vocation, ensuring it respects the dignity of the human person.”
This isn’t about resisting AI but ensuring humanity remains in the driver’s seat.
The Business Case Is Just as Compelling as the Moral One
For those who need hard numbers, consider this:
- Design-led companies outperform the S&P 500 by 211% (Design Management Institute)
- Organisations with strong design practices experience 32% higher revenue
- They deliver outcomes to market twice as fast
As McKinsey research reveals, “Companies with the highest design scores increased their revenues and total returns to shareholders significantly faster than competitors—32 percentage points higher revenue growth.”
What L&D Must Do Now
1. Make HCD the Core Operating System, Not Just a Program
Human-centred design becomes transformative when it shifts “from being a separate approach to problem-solving to becoming the core mindset and framework for how an organisation operates.”
This means embedding HCD in everything from decision-making to daily operations.
2. Develop the Three HCD Superpowers
These human capabilities become increasingly valuable as AI advances:
- Empathy: PwC research shows empathy-driven design thinking leads to 85% faster time-to-market and 75% higher customer satisfaction.
- Creativity: “The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive,” noted Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Develop it systematically through exploratory thinking spaces and divergent ideation techniques.
- Constructive Dissent: Harvard’s Amy Edmondson has demonstrated that teams balancing psychological safety with accountability consistently outperform peers in innovation metrics.
3. Transform Your L&D Function from Training Provider to Strategic Enabler
The transformation journey includes four key practices derived from IBM’s seven years of research:
- Deliver Outcomes: Move beyond theory to tangible, human-centred solutions
- Guide Teams: Integrate human-centred activities into team routines
- Invest in Opportunities: Direct resources toward the most critical human needs
- Transform Conditions: Make human-centred work the path of least resistance
The Science Behind HCD’s Effectiveness in the AI Era
A recent field experiment at Procter & Gamble revealed something fascinating: while individuals using AI performed well, teams using AI together performed significantly better, especially on complex challenges.
This reinforces what the Vatican’s doctrinal document stated:
“The physical presence of a teacher creates a relational dynamic that AI cannot replicate… True empathy requires the way a person, as a whole, relates to the world and to his or her own life.”
The Urgency Cannot Be Overstated.
Consider these sobering facts:
- GPT-4 already scores in the top 10% of bar exam test-takers
- It correctly answers 90% of questions on the US Medical Licensing Examination
- According to IBM, 70% of companies are still in early AI adoption stages
As Vidya Krishnan, Ericsson’s Chief Learning Officer, puts it, “The companies that outlearn other companies will outperform them.”
The frontrunners will be organisations that nurture human-centred capabilities alongside AI adoption.
Your New Mission: Become Architects of Human Potential
L&D professionals are now custodians of their organisations’ most sustainable competitive advantage: human ingenuity aligned with technological power.
Your imperative is to:
- Claim your strategic seat at the leadership table
- Redesign learning to develop uniquely human capabilities
- Make HCD the operating system for all organisational decisions
- Show how human capabilities become more valuable, not less, in an AI world
The Ultimate Alignment Challenge
The Vatican warned of a growing “crisis of truth” catalysed by AI’s ability to mimic human outputs without understanding, intent, or conscience.
As Naphtali Bryant notes, “AI adoption and career development are a unified strategy for agility.”
But this unity requires alignment on multiple levels:
- Alignment between AI systems and human values
- Alignment between human capabilities and technological possibilities
- Alignment between organisational practices and human dignity
Human-centred design provides the framework for this multi-level alignment challenge. It ensures that we remain focused on human flourishing as AI extends human capability.
The Bottom Line
As AI reshapes our world, L&D professionals must either adapt to technological change or lead a renaissance of human potential.
By making Human-Centred Design your organisation’s operating system, you’re not just preparing for AI—you’re ensuring humanity remains the author of its future, not subject to the tools it has made.
It’s time to answer the Pope’s wake-up call. Will you?
