I’ve been sitting with a question lately that I can’t shake.
I recently read a feature in The Pennsylvania Gazette, the University of Pennsylvania’s alumni magazine, about how one of the world’s top universities is incorporating AI in multiple classes. ICSC, the national association for shopping centers, hosted an entire day of professional development at its national conference in Vegas to showcase new technologies fueled by AI. I just got invited to join a group of commercial real estate investors who teach cutting edge ways to use AI in our own businesses.
I love all the exciting possibilities AI brings and I use it every day. It has made me faster, sharper, and more productive than I’ve ever been.
But somewhere in the middle of all of it, something made me pause.
If AI can underwrite a deal, answer questions about a legal document, and reshape what we teach at universities, what’s left that’s uniquely mine? What skills live in me that no algorithm can replicate? And more importantly — am I actively developing them or am I getting intellectually lazy with all my AI outsourcing?
A recent Harvard Business Review study found that as AI adoption grows, so does a troubling trend they call "thinkslop" — the gradual surrender of our cognitive responsibilities to AI. That word stopped me. Because I'd been feeling it without having a name for it.
I don’t have all the answers yet. But I’m starting to explore it, and I wanted to invite you to explore it with me.
A friend of mine, Dr. Carl S. Moore, has recently developed a new model named Human Literacy, with his book on the topic coming out in late summer 2026. His premise affirms what I am thinking — we are investing billions in AI literacy while largely ignoring the one literacy that makes all others possible. He describes Human Literacy as the “foundational operating system” beneath everything — what he calls “self-awareness, emotional regulation, somatic intelligence, values alignment, and purposeful action.”
I also am in the middle of reading Primal Intelligence: You are Smarter Than You Know by Angus Fletcher. Fletcher, a professor of story science at The Ohio State University and researcher whose work has been supported by the U.S. Army, explores the kinds of intelligence that are distinctly human. Skills like intuition, imagination, decision making with little data, and emotional attunement are things no machine can manufacture.
And then there’s the work I keep coming back to that I taught at Temple University when I worked as a leadership educator and administrator. Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence framework of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management reminds me that the more AI advances, EQ can serve as a key skill to differentiate you in the market.
AI can analyze a lease, but it can’t sit across from a prospective tenant and sense that something is off. AI can model a deal, but it can’t feel in your gut when you sense something doesn’t feel right about the purchase. AI can write your LOI, but it can’t build the kind of trust that makes that broker and seller choose you over every other investor.
Those moments live in the human skills that AI — at least for now — can’t replicate.
I’ve seen this most clearly in my partnership with Sam. We’ve built Champion around our strengths — not just our resumes. Sam leads acquisitions and analysis. I lead operations, asset management, and communications. We know each other’s strengths and blind spots deeply and we’ve designed our roles around them. We also communicate with care and understanding. That intentionality hasn’t just made us better business partners. It’s strengthened our marriage too.
And it doesn’t stop there. The relationships I’ve built in this business — with brokers, tenants, and community leaders — are built on something AI will never replicate. Real rapport. Genuine care about who someone is and what they’re trying to build. The ability to walk into a room and help people feel seen. That’s not networking. That’s human connection. And it’s the foundation of everything.
So here’s my hope for all of us as we embrace this incredible new world of AI — don’t outsource the skills that make you deeply human. The skills that build your greatest competitive advantage. Skills like Human Literacy, Primal Intelligence, and Emotional Intelligence. And don’t forget to intentionally deepen the human connections that no algorithm will ever replicate.
That part is yours. And it’s worth sharpening every single day.
I leave you with this question to ponder: What human skill do you most want to develop as AI continues to reshape your industry?
Never give up. Always be better.
Liz Bapasola, Ed.D. is Partner at Champion Investment Properties LLC. She writes about habits, mindset, and the strategies that help you reach your goals. She can be reached at liz@championinvestcre.com.
References:
Fletcher, A. (2025). Primal Intelligence: You are smarter than you know. Penguin Random House.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
Moore, C. S. (2026). Human Literacy: The capacity that changes everything in the Age of AI. HLI Press.
Popp, T. (2026, March/April). Hyper text. The Pennsylvania Gazette, 124(4).
Zao-Sanders, M. (2026, June 1). How people are really using AI in 2026. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2026/06/how-people-are-really-using-ai-in-2026