The value of humans in an AI world
04 December 2025
Claudia Monteiro considers the importance of human skills in an AI world.
‘Is it just me or is everyone else experiencing AI fatigue?’
That’s how Pagan Aspinall of Oxford Said Business School kicked off her presentation at the tail end of this year’s GMAC Europe conference, and you could see heads nodding through the audience.
You can’t take AI out of the conference circuit, and yet there’s a compelling story emerging on how human skills are rising in value. ‘It doesn’t matter how efficient our website is or how automated the process has become. Candidates are using our contact form to request a real conversation’, said an admissions director over drinks. Almost everyone I spoke to were happy for hitting enrolment targets for the MBA; what’s different right now is that they’re working a lot harder on conversion. Scholarships are a part of it for sure – and the other part of the story is the need for human contact throughout the months-long admission to enrolment cycle.
Aspinall showcased Oxford Said’s recent initiative, an experiential day-long learning event for Executive Diploma offer holders, which has seen conversion rise to 100%. Others are moving beyond performance metrics used in traditional tests to understand prospective students’ strengths; their emotional intelligence and maturity, leadership potential, adaptability and resilience.
Charlotte Guirao-Cassin shared how EMLyon is using integrated technology tools to assess behaviours and cognitive responses, transforming the way candidates’ human skills profiles can be mapped out at scale. On the other end of the spectrum Carter Stevenson at Stockholm School of Economics presented their home-grown methodology to measuring soft skills, scoring seven personality traits as prospective candidates go through the funnel. Their scoring system is ingeniously simple, it’s carried out by humans and has been a game-changer, with current cohorts displaying higher levels of social interaction, resilience and employability.
This matters more than ever. As Lee Newman of IE reminded us during his keynote, teaching behaviour skills will be key to the next wave of competencies-based education. This type of learning is labour-intensive, it requires a rich social context, frequent practice and attentive feedback.
At a time when so many are trying to figure out the real extent to which AI will impact on our lives, it’s important to be reminded that human-centred activity can be truly transformational.