A Human Reflection from Inside a Tech-Driven World

I just attended Web Summit in Lisbon, the biggest annual tech conference in Europe with more than 70,000 attendees and 2,700 startups pitching and raising funds.

It is my fifth-year attending. Normally I leave feeling inspired. This year I walked out with a strange heaviness.

Here is what stayed with me.
- Most startups are building something powered by AI. Optimized productivity. Higher efficiency. Better predictions. Faster decisions. Some are creating AI agents to replace human employees.
- AI will also bring remarkable progress. New discoveries. New possibilities. Real help for humanity.
- But the conversations about mental health were almost gone. In past years, there were more talks about wellbeing and holistic living. This time, everyone seemed fixated on speed and performance.
- The energy felt like we were dreaming the same dream. A dream where humans become less needed.

People like Elon Musk are predicting a world where work becomes optional. A world where survival does not depend on a job, and we get to choose the things that light us up instead. And honestly, that vision has a sweetness to it.

But the path from here to there is not so clear. Jobs are already disappearing. And many people may face real instability long before we reach anything that feels like freedom.

In my coaching work, I meet people who are already stretched thin by the pace of life, already wondering how to stay grounded when the world keeps speeding up. And I found myself thinking about how the coming years might feel for them. For all of us.

This is not a warning. I am not interested in adding fear to an already noisy world.

It feels more like an invitation.
An invitation to strengthen the part of you that technology cannot touch.
The resilience in your heart.
The wisdom in your gut.
The quiet knowing of who you are beneath your roles and achievements.

Because the future may be uncertain. The world may change in ways we cannot yet imagine. But you can meet that future with clarity and steadiness. You can build the inner capacity to stay awake and open no matter what shape the outer world takes.

And maybe that is the real work of our time.
Not racing against AI.
But remembering what makes us human.