Senior SaaS Leader Says Human Connection Will Become a Business Advantage in the AI Age
Sarah Stone McDevitt with her book The Round Table
Sarah McDevitt's e-book version of The Round Table
As businesses race to adopt AI, Sarah Stone McDevitt argues that the future of work is not humans versus AI, but humans learning how to work alongside it.
DUBLIN, IRELAND, July 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As businesses race to adopt artificial intelligence (AI), many leaders are asking what role humans will play in a workplace where technology can generate content, automate tasks, and accelerate decision-making at unprecedented speed.
For Sarah Stone McDevitt, a senior SaaS leader, the answer is not to resist or fear AI. It is to recognise the work humans are uniquely positioned to do.
“We hear a lot about what AI can do, but I became fascinated by what humans still do better,” says McDevitt.
Her view is that AI should not be treated as a direct replacement for human capability, but as a tool that can help people refocus on the skills machines struggle to replicate: empathy, judgement, relationship-building, and what she calls “relational intelligence”.
This distinction matters because many organisations are already looking at AI primarily through the lens of productivity and efficiency. While AI can help businesses move faster, McDevitt argues that speed alone is not enough. In an increasingly automated world, the ability to create meaning and understand human context will become even more valuable.
“AI will increasingly handle information. Humans will increasingly handle meaning,” she says.
For leaders, this raises an important question: not simply what can be automated, but what should remain distinctly human. If organisations focus only on efficiency, they risk weakening the very interactions that build loyalty, motivation, confidence, and connection.
As a senior leader, McDevitt works in a sector already being shaped by AI. She believes the most successful organisations will not be the ones that automate the most, but the ones that use technology while strengthening the human skills that make work meaningful.
“The future belongs to humans who become more human, not less,” says McDevitt.
Her new book, The Round Table: How Relational Intelligence Will Become Your Human Advantage in the AI Age, explores how relational intelligence could become a defining advantage as AI becomes more capable.
At its heart, McDevitt says, the message is not anti-technology. It is pro-human.
“If there is one idea at the heart of The Round Table, it is this: as technology becomes more capable, our humanity becomes more important. The future is not humans versus AI. It’s humans working alongside AI while developing the uniquely human qualities that machines struggle to replicate.”
"The Round Table: How Relational Intelligence Will Become Your Human Advantage in the AI Age" was published by The Book Shelf Press and is now available to order on Amazon.
About Sarah Stone McDevitt
Sarah Stone McDevitt is Senior Director of Partner Strategy at HubSpot, as well as an author, TEDx speaker, and podcast speaker. Her work explores the intersection of AI, relational intelligence, emotional intelligence and leadership, with a focus on how organisations can use technology while remaining deeply human.
Ameesha Green
The Book Shelf Press
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