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Sometimes I feel that I was transported back to 1999 – a time when the internet was still magical, E -commerce was a fashion word and “eyeballs” were the currency of the future. Everyone knew the web would change things, but few thought for how deep. If you had told me, I could one day of AirDrop files wireless or free video chat around the world, I thought we were in a sci-fi film.
And now, here we are again at the point of another transformation. AI is not just right on the door; It converts the entire house. We are surrounded by terms such as ‘autonomous agents’, ‘digital twins’ and ‘synthetic spirits’. Fast engineering is a job description. Neural dust sounds like a plot device of a cyber punk novel. And yet these are our realities.
People vs ai
I recently noticed that I was looking Hum∀Dutch Railways On Netflix, a show in a world where anthropomorphic robots “synths” live and work among us. They act as caregivers, housekeepers and workers designed to look good like people. But some start to develop awareness, and suddenly society has to confront uncomfortable questions: what makes someone human? Who deserves rights? What role do emotion and empathy play in leadership?
The next morning I was back on chatgpt and confusing, wondering about their speed and clarity. But something hesitated in me. I started to wonder if AI would soon take over tasks, but also creative direction, organizational strategy – even leadership itself.
That question got close to home. I recently published a deep personal business book, Soul Venture: A True Life and Death Journey in the Startup CultureA project that I wrote for almost two decades. It is a hybrid of memoirs and entrepreneurial reflection – raw, vulnerable and my observations from the decades in the entrepreneurial channels. I put it all there – fully exposed myself to the world, while AI looked behind the scenes.
But when I launched it in 2025, I was confronted with a hard truth: books did not pay attention as before, so I knew I had to release my word in additional ways. We live in a world of audio clips, videos of 90 seconds and AI-generated content. Of course I produced an audio book, but I knew what I had written could not be simulated by a machine.
Not yet.
Because Soul venture was not just about building companies; It was about what it cost To build them – the merger between the internal and external journeys of an entrepreneurs. The toll on the mind and the body. The moments of self -doubt while we secretly try to find meaning in life on the start -up phase. The insights that only come after you have fallen have dusted yourself and tried it again. It is a story with a heart. And while I think of the future of leadership, I keep coming back to one question:
Can AI lead with soul?
Let’s face it, AI will perform better than most of us in processing information, predicting markets and making data -driven decisions. It will never miss a KPI. It does not need coffee breaks. It won’t rattle emotionally.
But that is exactly the point.
Real leadership, in startups, in management rooms, in life, requires more than logic. It requires empathy. Presence. The ability to sit with someone in silence after a hard loss. The intuition to know when a team is exhausted, or when a risk is worth taking, even if the data says differently.
We are moving to an era in which leaders have to define their role again. It will not be enough to be the smartest person in the room; The AI will already contain that title. The real value comes from what Only people Can offer: emotional intelligence, contextual judgment and moral courage.
In Soul ventureI wrote about the evolution of leadership where I witnessed firsthand. In the beginning, leadership was hierarchical and stoic. Power meant control. Vulnerability was a weakness. But over time I saw a shift. The most effective leaders were not those who bleed orders, but those who listened deeply. Those questions asked. That space made for others to get up.
This is heart -based leadership
And now, in an era of automation, it is more vital than ever.
Let me offer some practical markings for what this looks like:
- Lead with empathy, not ego – When someone struggles in your team, you do not only analyze performance tricks. Ask how they are doing. Understand the story behind the statistics.
- Embrace imperfection – AI strives for optimum outputs. People not. And that is where creativity lives in the messy, uncertain, intermediate places.
- Make room for stories – Data is essential, but connecting stories. They give meaning to the mission. A team that shares stories is a team that trusts.
- Prioritize the goal over profit – AI will maximize efficiency. But only people can feed a sense of connectedness and long -term purposes. That is what talent retains and builds legacy.
- Stay soul driven Your leadership trip is unique. Your scars, your triumphs, your beliefs, they matter. Not outsourcing the algorithm from your voice.
In the end, AI will be a brilliant co-pilot. But it needs a human captain. Tomorrow’s leaders will be those who can navigate both digital and emotional complexity, who can use AI as a tool, or at least another member of the team.
What matters is not how efficient we were, but how we treated others. Not how fast we scale, but what we were standing for.
Because when the game is over, the king and the pawn return to the same box.
So yes, Google can search. AI can reason and possibly lead with logic.
But we, the poor, soulful, beautifully complex people, still have to lead with heart.
Author bio
Ashwin Gulati has launched international companies, helped startups to take off or land and to land and linked complex transitions for more than 100 companies in different industries in the UK, the US, Spain and France. With 30 years in the trenches, he has identified the hidden pitfalls, unspoken truths and personal turns that ultimately determine the success or failure of a company.
He has a BA in the economy and mathematics from Claremont McKenna College and studied at King’s College and the London School of Economics. His new book is Soul Venture: A True Life and Death Journey in the Startup Culture.Learn more on soulventurebook.com.