3 qualities in which we, humans, have the edge over AI

While the potential impact of artificial intelligence on business was largely underhyped just two years ago, many companies are now concerned about its potential consequences, says customer experience expert Steven van Belleghem. Food Inspiration spoke with him about the latest developments in AI and the opportunities for the hospitality sector.

Two years ago, Van Belleghem said in an interview with Food Inspiration: “I’ve noticed that in the business world, we’re hugely underhyping artificial intelligence.” Those days are definitely over, he says now. “Over the past twelve months, virtually everyone has woken up to reality. On the one hand, this is causing great anxiety among companies. On the other hand, it’s creating an enormous urge to experiment,” says the AI expert. 

Artificial Intelligence is now everywhere, including in our hospitality sector. At the same time, it’s becoming increasingly clear just how important, distinctive, and indispensable Human Intelligence is. How do you view this?

I completely agree. The massive shift toward digitization we’re seeing now will only continue to accelerate in the coming years. AI is becoming increasingly influential, not only thanks to traditional AI models but also due to the rise of humanoid robots. At the same time, this development is actually increasing the value of the experience and authentic human craftsmanship.

The moment machines can do everything with hardly no effort, the appreciation for human skills and creativity grows. With AI, you can already create an endless variety of music, produce vast amounts of art, and come up with countless new recipes. But the majority of that output is of average quality. That is precisely why expertise, quality, and human craftsmanship are increasing in value. My expectation is that people will become more conscious of making time for unique, personal experiences and will be willing to pay more for them.

There’s a lot of talk about the development of a Super AI, which might eventually become smarter than all of humanity combined. So won’t the average output of AI naturally improve as well?

Certainly, that output will improve. AI will undoubtedly create extraordinary things. But precisely because of the enormous amount of content it produces, and the fact that no human was involved, people will attach less value to it. After all, everyone knows that the creation process required relatively little effort.

You can already see this happening. Take Coca-Cola’s Christmas commercial, which was entirely AI-generated. People underestimate how much work went into it, but that’s beside the point. Consumers still reacted by saying, “It’s AI-generated; it lacks the human warmth of Christmas.” As a result, the campaign received a lot of criticism, even though Coca-Cola traditionally scores highly with its Christmas campaigns.

At the same time, Apple released a Christmas commercial featuring all kinds of animals playing with an iPhone in a forest. At first glance, you’d think it was created entirely with AI. But in the “making-of” video, you see that human performers are operating the puppets and that the film relies entirely on human craftsmanship. That’s exactly what’s so highly valued.

“It’s a classic economic law: what becomes scarce becomes more valuable”

Ultimately, you see that when content creation is based entirely on data, it tends to move more and more in the same direction. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Take the World Cup, for example. Virtually all the players were wearing pink cleats. Whether they’re from Nike, Adidas, Puma, or New Balance, they’re all bright pink. In an attempt to stand out, they’ve all turned to data. It’s likely that each brand concluded, based on that data, that a striking color would attract the most attention. As a result, everyone ends up with the same color. If you leave decisions entirely up to data, everything evolves in the same direction.

Of course, AI will also create many exceptionally good things. But precisely because human quality is becoming scarcer, its value is rising. That’s a classic economic law: what becomes scarce becomes more valuable.

What are the uniquely human skills that – thanks to AI – will actually become more important and valuable in the hospitality industry?

Let me start with where we, as humans, won’t be making a difference. You can assume that everything related to technology and the basic quality of service can eventually be automated – both by robots and by traditional AI systems. But there are three key human qualities in which we’ll continue to outperform machines: passion, connection, and leadership.

• Passion: The difference is made by the degree to which you’re passionate about your craft. AI and robots can do excellent work, but they’ll never be passionate. 

• Connection: What we as humans can do is transmit energy to one another. A machine cannot do that. That’s why we still attend soccer games, even though we can watch them at home on TV. That’s why we go to concerts, even though we can stream them. We want to feel the energy and share it with others.

• Leadership: Ultimately, as a human being, you have to make your own choices. You make the decisions; you bear the responsibility – not the machine.

Leadership was an area where AI initially had little to offer. Couldn’t AI, because of its self-learning capabilities, eventually fulfill that role much better?

There is a big difference between weighing strategic options, calculating budgets, and developing scenarios on the one hand, and taking responsibility for a decision that has been made on the other hand.

I believe that AI will evolve into an important leadership assistant in boardrooms – a permanent discussion partner at the table who rapidly gathers relevant information, conducts analyses, and provides well-reasoned advice. But the responsibility remains with the people who lead an organization. If a wrong decision is made or something goes wrong, you can point the finger at AI, but ultimately, it is people who remain responsible.

Two years ago, Agentic AI was little more than a buzzword. What’s the status now?

Two years ago, it was still very much in its infancy. Now, AI agents are up and running. Some work excellently, others reasonably well, and still others aren’t quite good enough yet. The underlying vision, however, has hardly changed.

Broadly speaking, two key applications are emerging. On the one hand, there are agents that take work off our hands and save us time. On the other hand, they’re being used for things you actually enjoy spending time on. If you love to cook, for example, an AI agent can act as a sous chef who thinks along with you and offers advice. If you love to travel, it becomes a travel partner with whom you can endlessly brainstorm about destinations and travel hacks.

For example, I use Claude’s agent to handle my grocery shopping. I tell it what we want to eat that week, and Claude creates a shopping list for four people. Then I ask it to upload that list directly to my supermarket’s ordering app. That still takes a little time, but it now works almost flawlessly. In the meantime, I can just do something else. Applications like that are already up and running today.

I think the endgame is that we’ll all eventually have two personal AI agents: one for our personal lives and one for our work. Underlying that is an entire network of specialized agents controlled by those two main agents. We’ll probably even give them names and they’ll eventually help us with just about everything we do.

How should I envision that? Will there be holograms walking around our house, or will it mainly be apps on our phones

It could be either. Your agent could also be integrated into a humanoid robot, your smartwatch, or a completely new device. Maybe the technology will eventually be built into our glasses. You can already see AI pendants that you wear around your neck. All kinds of forms are conceivable, but one thing seems certain to me: AI won’t be limited to the smartphone.

How do you expect AI agents to become relevant within the hospitality sector?

Anything that is time-consuming and doesn’t directly contribute to the guest’s core experience will be the first to be handled by AI agents. I expect the greatest impact to be felt initially in back-of-house operations: processes that are time-consuming, repetitive, and where human added value is limited.

Take, for example, the automatic ordering of standard ingredients. Why spend time on that over and over again if you need the same products and quantities every week? The same applies to recruitment. Currently, this is still handled through staffing agencies or traditional application processes. In the future, this will increasingly take place on an agent-to-agent basis.

What are the biggest barriers right now? What is still holding back a rapid rollout?

In Europe, legislation is a major obstacle. Many Agentic AI applications are already available in the United States and Asia. In Europe, they are often rolled out later because stricter regulations and procedures make tech companies more reluctant to launch them here immediately.

Within organizations, there are also other barriers. Data security is a major point of concern. Companies are afraid that something might go wrong with sensitive information. In addition, there is a fear of losing autonomy and control. Many organizations simply do not yet have enough confidence in the technology.

In your opinion, what are the most important opportunities that AI offers the hospitality industry?

Two years ago, I said: increasing productivity and optimizing customer service. That’s still true. As many as 91% of AI projects within companies still revolve around efficiency. Yet I see something much more interesting emerging, right at the intersection of efficiency and customer service. Most companies are barely addressing this yet.

We need to look beyond simply working more efficiently. The real question is: how can we use AI to leverage our expertise and add more value for the guest? How can we use technology to create emotional value? I think we’ll make much more progress in this area in the coming years than we currently expect.

Take, for example, the website and app of the fashion brand Ralph Lauren. There, you can have a conversation with “Mr. Ralph Lauren” himself, who inspires and advises you on clothing choices. L’Oréal is doing something similar with Beauty Genius: a personal beauty coach that answers questions about skin, hair, and nail care. That goes far beyond efficiency. It’s all about adding value. I can imagine that there are opportunities in this area for hospitality organizations as well. Think, for example, of digital butlers who give you travel advice based on your personal preferences and mood.

What are the biggest risks?

I remain a tech optimist, but one of the biggest risks is that the data quality is insufficient. That leads to mediocre results, because you’re working with mediocre data. This frustrates guests instead of helping them.

“With AI, you can keep raising expectations, while the actual experience doesn’t always keep up.”

Another risk is that organizations want to move too fast. They end up implementing AI mainly because it looks modern or innovative, even though the application ultimately fails to meet user expectations. You can already see this with many chatbots. Consumers get frustrated when a digital assistant doesn’t solve their problem adequately. That reflects poorly on your entire organization.

People are constantly seeing examples of AI generated content online. Does that also raise the bar for hospitality organizations?

Absolutely. We’re seeing a massive surge in expectations. The photos of food, hotels, and destinations you see online are often so perfect that reality can hardly live up to them anymore. That’s a real danger. With AI, you can keep raising expectations, while the actual experience can’t always keep up.

Many hospitality business owners struggle with the question of where to start. There are so many AI tools and possibilities that it can sometimes be overwhelming. What advice would you give them?

Don’t start with the technological question: Which tool should I use? That’s the wrong place to start. First, ask yourself: Which processes take up a lot of my time but yield little energy? Where can I work more efficiently? Only then should you look at which technology fits best with that.

The second question is just as important: what kind of experience do I want to offer my guests? What do I need to deliver on that promise? What role can technology play in that, and what specifically requires human attention? Always start with your own processes, your people, and the relationship you want to build with your guests. Don’t start with the technology. If you do, it will almost certainly end in disaster.