Humanity at Scale: Bruce Temkin on Redefining Leadership in the Age of AI

In this CX Iconoclast episode, Richard Owen speaks with Bruce Temkin, a pioneering figure in customer experience, about his new initiative: Humanity at Scale. Temkin explains that despite decades of progress in CX and EX, many leaders still perceive a trade-off between focusing on people and achieving business results. His goal is to eliminate this false dichotomy by helping leaders understand that truly human-centric organizations—those that embrace how people naturally think, feel, and behave—are in fact more productive, adaptable, and capable of long-term success. Drawing on principles from neuroscience and behavioral economics, Temkin argues that organizations need to shift from rule-heavy, process-centric structures to environments that empower creativity and human connection.

 

While covering the societal and organizational implications of AI, Temkin acknowledges the disruptive potential but remains optimistic that like past technological revolutions, AI can elevate standards of living and open new opportunities—if it’s applied thoughtfully. He cautions, however, that businesses often default to short-term cost-cutting, such as automating human interaction in contact centers, rather than leveraging AI to enhance productivity and employee fulfillment. Temkin also introduces the concept of “bias denialism,” encouraging leaders to accept that all data and decisions are inherently biased. Recognizing and working with that bias, he argues, is essential to truly human-centered leadership. His ultimate ambition is to spark a movement that inspires leaders, shares practical practices, and promotes AI applications that serve humanity rather than diminish it.

Bruce Temkin is a luminary in human experience management and large-scale transformation. Known as the “Godfather of Customer Experience,” he helped define the fields of CX, EX, and XM, co-founded the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), and led the Qualtrics XM Institute. With a rare ability to simplify complexity and guide leaders through disruption and change, Bruce’s work bridges behavioral science, disruptive technologies, and organizational culture to drive human-centric strategies that deliver sustainable results at scale.. He now leads Temkinsight, where he publishes the Humanity at Scale newsletter and hosts the Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership podcast—spotlighting bold thinkers who are reshaping leadership around empathy, purpose, and trust. He believes that leading in a human-centric way isn’t just a better approach—it’s the only path to sustainable success. 

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