“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke
Artificial intelligence is no longer a concept of the future: it’s already transforming our interactions, our decisions, and our expectations as customers. But what happens when AI meets magic, emotion, the human? At an event organized by Salesforce, I had the pleasure of exploring this unprecedented crossroads between mentalism, technology and customer relations.
AI & mentalism: the same battle?
Mentalism is based on a detailed understanding of human behavior, logic and emotions. Artificial intelligence, on the other hand, analyzes millions of pieces of data to predict intentions, needs or emotions. One captures the invisible; the other calculates it.
On stage, with ChatGPT as my accomplice, I demonstrated how an AI can suggest the right questions to detect an emotion, a lie… or a hidden bill. It was an unsettling experience, both spectacular and revealing: AI doesn’t think like we do, but it does perceive more and more.
Creating emotion in a world of data
AI enables large-scale personalization, optimization and automation. But customer experience isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about the unexpected, the felt, the human connection. As in a magic trick, it’s not the mechanism that’s the touchstone, but the surprise, the rightness, the feeling that “it was for me”.
Salesforce, data & live performance
The intervention for Salesforce wasn’t just a show: it embodied the idea that data, properly used, can create uncanny coincidences and unforgettable experiences. Using internal indicators and AI-projected information, the audience witnessed an “impossible” – but rigorously orchestrated – prediction.
A powerful metaphor for what companies can do: aggregate, understand and then transform data into relationships.
AI does not replace the human
In a Harvard Business Review article, one sentence sums up the issue perfectly:
“Artificial intelligence won’t replace humans – but humans who know how to use it will replace those who don’t”
(Harvard Business Review, August 2023)
We don’t have to fear artificial intelligence, but rather learn to interact with it. By integrating it into our processes, our insights and our businesses, we can strengthen our impact, and offer experiences where technology amplifies rather than eclipses the human.
What if the future of customer experience was magical?
Emotion. Elegance. Anticipation. These elements are an integral part of my scenic universe, but they are also at the heart of a successful customer experience. Today, AI is a tool. In the right hands, it becomes a lever. In sensitive hands, it becomes… a stage.
