complimentary thinklets – fourth quarter 2025
While I am neither an authority on, nor an evangelist of, the technology, I know people in the crisis field need to be rapidly educating themselves about how AI can assist them in better helping people touched by tragedy.
I would caution, however, that one needs to use a little human intelligence when determining where artificial intelligence belongs in the equation.
For me, I saw people misusing AI in their crisis programs from the get-go.
“August, it can write a crisis plan in a fraction of the time it takes you or me to write one.”
I have no doubt. But here’s the thing. Creating the crisis plan is what gets an individual or organization ready to navigate a crisis. Not the resulting document. So if something writes your plan for you, you have sacrificed the entire benefit of drafting the plan.
Former military strategist and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower made this clear when he said: Plans are useless. But planning is indispensable
Every crisis program owner has an obligation to determine how AI can help their organization. But that evaluation has to be undertaken in the same way any new process or tool is reviewed.
- How does this help us achieve our stated mission?
- If this replaces something (or multiple somethings) currently in use, what are the positives? What are the negatives?
- Have we tested it in exercises? What did we learn?
- What are the ramifications if it fails to perform as expected?
- How will it be subject to our ethical ethos?
- What are the guidelines / rules for its use?
There are definitely places where I see an immediate benefit from using AI. For example, analyzing crisis news coverage on a recurring set interval.
There are definitely places where I see AI being an immediate disaster looking for a place to happen. For example, directly communicating with survivors and families.
AI is here. Now. It is being used by those around you, including those who may regulate or challenge you. You need to determine how you will and will not use it during crisis situations. That is not something that should be put off as a nice-to-do project.
Just ensure as you integrate AI into your toolkit, you keep your head in the mix. AI is not, nor should it be interpreted as, a replacement for people smarts.
We help organizations evaluate their crisis programs to ensure they are using all available resources. If we can help you, please contact us.