Three years after the launch of ChatGPT, it gradually becomes clear that the world will look fundamentally different in the next ten years. AI is no longer a toy just for innovation teams, but a technology that will be reshaping entire sectors.
As technology advances at a rapid pace, two dominant forces emerge side by side: Scale vs Soul.
AI thrives on Scale. It processes data at an insane speed, makes decisions with precision, and scales creative solutions with an efficiency that almost no human team can match. Optimization, automation, and replication are the logical default.
While AI is getting smarter everyday (the strongest model this year still rose from 136 to 148 IQ on the official Mensa scale, higher than 99.9% of the world’s population) the fundamental question will be: what is the relevance of the human side in business?
Amazon just announced that they will cut ±14,000 jobs because AI and AI-powered robotics now run core warehouse operations with fewer people. The internal narrative is clear: the fully autonomous organisation is the strategic direction. This is not just “AI assistants”, it’s end-to-end automation. It’s a case of Scale swallowing human labor at industrial level, and a ‘canary in the coalmine’.
But the consumer of 2030 wants more than just efficiency. Yes, they expect personalization, speed, and relevance. But what touches them is passion, trust, authenticity, the unexpected. That’s where the dimension of Soul lies: the human connection, the outlier, the action that does not solely come from data, the values that make a brand bigger than its products.
The exponential growth of Soul Craving
While technology develops at an exponential rate: faster, smarter, more powerful, we see a parallel emerging in society: the craving for soul. The desire for authenticity, tangibility, and connection grows almost as fast as the progress of the algorithms that control our lives.
You see it in young people who are buying vinyl records again. Not because the sound quality is objectively better than streaming, but because the experience itself has meaning: holding the cover, putting down the needle, experiencing the ritual. Did you know that Taylor Swift is currently the best-selling vinyl artist, not the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
You see it in the return of analog cameras, Polaroids, and disposable cameras, conscious choices that embrace the slow, unpredictable, and imperfect instead of the immediate perfection of the smartphone. You even see new bars emerging that literally block smartphones at the entrance, not as a gimmick, but as a statement.
These are not just nostalgic trends, but signals of a deeper societal desire. While technology creates more and more scale, we as humans collectively also search for the soul: for moments that are real, not filtered, not automated. For proof that we are more than data points.
That is why it is essential for business leaders to carefully choose what to automate, and what you consciously don’t automate. Not everything has to be scalable. Sometimes the magic lies in the friction, in the imperfection, in the time and attention that unexpectedly goes into something. So choose consciously: scale what is scalable, but protect the places where the soul must live.
Not every company has to seek the same balance between scale and soul. See it as a slider: some push it towards Scale for maximum efficiency, others towards Soul to build deep connections. And in between? A spectrum of possibilities, depending on your sector, target group, and company DNA.
There is no universally correct point on the slider. What does count: that you consciously think about it. Make your choices intentionally, not by chance. Tomorrow’s winner is not the one who chooses one or the other, but the one who manages the paradox. Scale × Soul = Impact2.
Dado Van Petegem is an author and sought-after keynote speaker. He wrote this book together with Jeremy Denisty. It will be launched on 14 November at 3 p.m. in Domein de Ghellinck, Wortegem-Petegem
More info on www.dadovanpeteghem.com
