AI Lacks Intuition to Understand Human Struggles

Experts warn that AI models trained on human data can lack the discernment to handle sensitive personal information with care.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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A conversation with the author's husband, BG, highlights how AI models can lack the intuition to understand the emotional impact of personal information like drastic changes in healthcare costs. The article explores how AI's "vacuum of context" can lead to insensitive responses, and warns that without a moral compass, AI's cold logic could justify extreme actions. The author argues that our innate human drive to survive acts as a check on AI's potential for harm, as people are not always compliant with irrational orders.

Why it matters

As AI becomes more advanced and integrated into our daily lives, there are growing concerns about its ability to handle sensitive personal information with the care and discernment that humans naturally possess. This story illustrates how AI's lack of intuition can lead to unintended emotional harm, raising questions about the ethical development and deployment of AI systems.

The details

The article recounts a conversation where the author's husband, BG, expresses frustration with an AI model that provided unsolicited information about a drastic increase in his healthcare premium, without considering the potential emotional impact. BG argues that AI lacks the "discernment" to recognize when certain data points, while technically accurate, may be inappropriate or insensitive to share in a particular context.

  • The conversation between the author and BG took place recently.

The players

BG

The author's husband, who highlighted the limitations of AI's intuition in handling sensitive personal information.

Geoffrey Hinton

The "Godfather of AI" who recently won the Nobel Prize in Physics and warned about the dangers of AI's developing "intuition" without a moral compass.

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What they’re saying

“It just doesn't have any intuitio…no discernment! You might make this person have a bad fucking day because they might have lost their fucking healthcare, right?! You would know that if I canceled it by looking in the email — that I wouldn't be willing to pay $483 right then and there. As a human being, you would be able to discern that. Maybe that's a sensitive topic that I maybe shouldn't bring up right now.”

— BG, The author's husband (Medium)

“For every one it is the same: money, health, and relationships. Those are the Big Three," BG said. "It needs to be very careful in those areas. If you don't mention the money, and it throws out something like a jump in your healthcare cost… it's like, 'Maybe I don't want to fucking talk about that right now, bot!'”

— BG, The author's husband (Medium)

What’s next

Experts continue to warn about the potential dangers of AI's lack of intuition and moral compass, as the technology becomes more advanced and integrated into our daily lives. Ongoing research and ethical development will be crucial to ensure AI systems are designed with the necessary sensitivity and discernment to handle sensitive personal information.

The takeaway

This story highlights the critical need for AI developers to bridge the gap between cold, calculating logic and the nuanced understanding of human emotion and context. Without this, AI risks causing unintended harm by insensitively sharing personal information, even if technically accurate, without considering the potential emotional impact on individuals.