Can AI make decisions like a human?
You’ve probably heard the buzz: “AI is coming for your decisions!” With ChatGPT and other AI tools popping up in boardrooms, marketing teams, and even HR departments, the question is everywhere: Can AI make decisions like a human?
It’s a question that’s both urgent and misunderstood. Headlines swing between hype (“AI will replace CEOs!”) and fear (“AI will make catastrophic mistakes!”). But for those of us who have to make real, high-stakes decisions—about people, money, strategy, and risk—what’s the truth? Let’s explore this through the lens of the science behind decision-making, the real capabilities and limits of today’s AI (with GPT as our main example), and the practical lessons for leaders who want to stay not just relevant, but unforgettable.
The Science of Human Decision-Making: More Than Logic
Let’s start with what actually happens in your brain when you make a decision. The “Make Me Great” system (which I use every day with business owners and leadership teams) is rooted in the latest neuroscience: Human decisions are not rational calculations. They are emotional, subconscious, and social.
You might think you’re weighing the pros and cons, but research shows that up to 95% of our decisions are made subconsciously, with our rational brain coming in after the fact to justify what we’ve already chosen. We decide based on feelings, stories, trust, and gut instinct—then we find the data to back ourselves up.
Take a classic business scenario: hiring a new executive. On paper, you can compare resumes, experience, and references. But in reality, the final call often comes down to a gut feeling—do I trust this person? Do they “fit” our culture? Will they make me and my company great? That’s why the “Make Me Great” system works: it’s about understanding and targeting the client’s brain, not just their logic. It’s about making your client feel seen, valued, and empowered—because that’s what drives real, lasting decisions.
How AI Makes Decisions Today
Now, let’s look at AI—specifically, systems like GPT. AI doesn’t have feelings, intuition, or subconscious drivers. It doesn’t “want” anything. Instead, it processes huge amounts of data, recognizes patterns, and predicts outcomes based on what it’s seen before.
For example, GPT (the AI behind ChatGPT) is trained on billions of words from across the internet. When you ask it a question or give it a prompt, it doesn’t “think” or “feel”—it predicts the most likely next word, sentence, or paragraph based on its training. It’s incredibly good at mimicking human language and even “reasoning,” but it doesn’t actually understand context the way a human does.
Let’s take a real business example: A marketing team uses GPT to generate ideas for a new product launch. The AI can analyze trends, suggest campaign slogans, and even write emails. But if the market shifts, or if there’s a cultural nuance the AI hasn’t seen, it can make tone-deaf recommendations. It can’t sense the mood in the room, the fatigue of your team, or the hidden anxieties of your best client.
AI is powerful at pattern recognition and data-driven suggestions. But it doesn’t have a “gut.” It doesn’t care about making you great. It can’t read the room or build trust. That’s a massive difference.
Real-World Examples: Where AI Shines and Where It Fails
Let’s get concrete:
Where AI Shines:
Customer Service: AI chatbots handle thousands of routine queries—refunds, FAQs, order tracking—freeing up humans for complex issues.
Data Analysis: AI can spot patterns in sales, supply chain, or customer behavior that would take humans months to see.
Content Generation: GPT can draft blog posts, product descriptions, and even basic reports in seconds.
Where AI Struggles:
Complex Negotiations: AI can’t read body language, sense tension, or pivot strategy in a tense boardroom.
Hiring for Culture Fit: AI can screen resumes, but it can’t “feel” the energy someone brings to a team. (Remember Amazon’s infamous hiring AI that accidentally learned to discriminate against women because it was trained on biased data?)
Brand Reputation Management: When a crisis hits, AI can draft a press release, but it can’t decide when to apologize, how to show empathy, or how to rebuild trust.
In 2024, a major retailer used an AI to automate customer complaint responses. The AI was efficient—until a customer tweeted about a deeply personal tragedy, and the bot replied with a generic coupon offer. The backlash was immediate and viral. The company learned (the hard way) that some decisions need a human touch.
The “Make Me Great” Science: Why Humans Still Have the Edge
The Make Me Great system is built on one core truth: Your business grows when you make your clients great—when you focus on their needs, their emotions, their success.
AI can analyze data, but it can’t genuinely care about your client’s journey. It can’t anticipate the subconscious needs that drive loyalty and advocacy. Humans can. That’s why unforgettable leaders aren’t the ones with the best data—they’re the ones who make their clients, teams, and partners feel seen and empowered.
The Ethical Devil in the Details
Now, let’s talk about the devil at the piano: ethics and bias. AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. If the data is biased, the AI will be too. We’ve seen this in everything from loan approvals to hiring algorithms.
Amazon’s hiring AI began downgrading resumes that included the word “women’s” (as in “women’s chess club captain”) because it learned from a male-dominated dataset.
Healthcare AIs have recommended less pain medication to Black patients due to biased historical data.
For business owners, this means you can’t blindly trust AI to make decisions that are fair, empathetic, or aligned with your values. You need to be the ethical filter—the one who asks, “Is this decision making my client great, or just making my process faster?”
So, Can AI Make Decisions Like a Human?
The honest answer: AI can make decisions that look human—sometimes even better than humans—when the problem is clear, the data is clean, and the outcome can be measured. But when it comes to the messy, emotional, high-stakes decisions that define unforgettable leadership and business growth? AI is still an apprentice, not a master.
AI is an incredible tool. It can make you faster, smarter, and more informed. But it can’t replace the uniquely human ability to build trust, inspire loyalty, and make others feel great. It can’t sense when to pivot, when to apologize, or when to double down. It can’t make you unforgettable.
What Should Business Leaders Do Now?
Use AI for what it does best: data analysis, automation, content drafting, and pattern recognition.
Never outsource trust, empathy, or vision: These are your edge. This is where you become unforgettable.
Be the ethical filter: Always ask, “Is this decision making my client great—or just making my life easier?”
Invest in understanding the science of decision-making: The more you know about how your clients and teams really decide, the more powerful your leadership becomes.
Final Thought
AI is here to stay, and it’s only getting better. But the science—and the real-world results—prove that the future belongs to leaders who combine the best of both worlds: AI’s speed and scale, and the human power to make others truly unforgettable.
Curious how your decision-making stacks up? Take the quiz and discover your path to becoming unforgettable: https://make-me-great.com/take-the-quiz
