# Using AI to create human value **Authors:** Stéphanie Milcent **Categories:** Features **Last Updated:** 2026-06-25T07:44:05.504Z **Reading Time:** 9 min read --- ## Summary AI is often presented as a threat to human connection. Stéphanie Milcent, CEO of Synergie Family, argues the opposite: for social impact organisations, AI is freeing up time for what matters most, the people they serve. --- For the past two years, we have been told that artificial intelligence will replace humans. In our sector, we unexpectedly tend to witness the opposite. When AI first entered conversations across the nonprofit world, it was often met with skepticism. After all, our work is built on human relationships, listening, support, and education. In our collective imagination, **intelligence remains deeply connected to empathy, emotions, and the ability to create meaningful connections.** So seeing machines capable of writing, drawing, coding, reasoning, and sometimes even moving us emotionally naturally raises questions. Some people already rely on AI assistants for the most basic daily tasks. As machines become more human-like, where does the line between humans and machines now stand? Yet, as we continue experimenting with these tools, it becomes increasingly clear that AI may well represent a **historic opportunity to put people back at the heart of our organizations.** # A sector at a turning point AI is arriving at a turning point for social organizations. For several years now, economic, social, and technological change has been accelerating faster than ever before. Many people are already struggling to keep up. To existing social, economic, and environmental inequalities, we must now add a digital one, one that evolves as quickly as the technologies themselves. And contrary to popular belief, **young people are not automatically equipped to make the most of it.** While digital natives are perfectly comfortable with the recreational uses of technology, the use of AI as a tool for learning, work, or empowerment remains highly uneven. For impact-driven organizations like ours, the stakes could not be higher. Our mission is to help everyone find their place in society, whether they are children, teenagers, or job seekers. **We cannot afford to watch this transformation happen from the sidelines.** Innovation is no longer an option. It has become a necessity. Otherwise, nonprofits risk addressing yesterday's challenges instead of today's. # Doing more with less At the same time, social impact organizations are experiencing growing financial pressure. Following the post-Covid “whatever it takes” period, many organizations are facing declining funding and increasing uncertainty about their long-term sustainability. This creates a particularly challenging equation. **Social needs continue to grow while available resources shrink.** Nonprofits are therefore being asked to do more with less. To continue fulfilling their mission, organizations must develop new sources of funding. This often means **responding to an increasing number of grants or public tenders.** Yet these processes are extremely time-consuming. It is not uncommon for four or five people to spend several weeks preparing a strong proposal, with no guarantee of success. More than ever, impact-driven organizations must learn **to combine operational excellence with social purpose.** Not to become traditional businesses, but to devote as many resources as possible to what truly matters: their impact. This is precisely where AI becomes a game changer for impact-driven organizations. # Time freed is time returned to people [![enfants.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/PfWBp57Q/enfants.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/QVM6vhhF) *Photo: Synergie Family* While it is often portrayed as a threat to traditional jobs, we often observe the opposite. By freeing up valuable time, **AI allows professionals to spend less time behind a screen and more time with the people they support.** Professionals working with children, young people, families, and job seekers have never needed more time for human interaction, listening, and relationship-building. Yet their daily work is increasingly crowded with administrative tasks: reports, evaluations, impact reporting, and compliance requirements. The value of an educational project manager ultimately lies in their ability to experiment with new approaches, train educators, engage with families, and build connections across a community. Every hour saved on administrative work is an hour returned to these essential missions. **AI does not replace human relationships; it creates more room for them.** This shift is all the more important as funders are increasingly reluctant to finance coordination and management time, even though these activities remain essential to the success of any project. # When human qualities become the real differentiator But AI does not only change how much time we have. It also changes what creates value. AI is already raising the average standard of written communication. Funding proposals are getting better written, arguments more structured, and presentations more polished. But when everyone is able to produce an excellent document, the ultimate deciding factor will no longer lie in the quality of the proposal itself. **It will lie in the ability to build trust.** In this context, face-to-face interactions and human relationships will regain a central role. Negotiations, partnerships, and important decisions will continue to be shaped by people who can persuade, embody a vision, and build trust. As a result, certain qualities become more valuable than ever: originality, critical thinking, charisma, and authenticity. These are the qualities that AI cannot replicate. At Synergie Family, we believe that education extends far beyond the classroom. We are deeply committed to developing the soft skills that are built through experiences, relationships, and personal growth. While schools primarily focus on academic achievement, **we focus on the talents and strengths that help people build confidence in themselves.** In a world where AI may soon handle much of the rest, these human qualities will become increasingly important. # AI as a tool for empowerment AI is also creating a new gap between those who quickly learn how to use these tools and those who don’t. The former will gain a significant advantage, while the latter risk being left behind. The people most affected will be those who were already the most vulnerable. But at Synergie Family, optimism is one of our core values. We also see AI as a powerful tool for empowerment. For too long, we have valued certain academic skills over other forms of intelligence. Over the years, I have met countless young people who had all the right qualities, yet lacked the academic polish expected in the workplace. They were creative, resourceful, resilient, and capable of solving complex problems, but held back by spelling mistakes, difficulties with written communication, or a limited mastery of professional codes. People are not defined by their writing skills. **AI does not create talent. Sometimes, it simply helps reveal it.** It can help someone organize their thoughts, prepare for an interview, write a letter, or develop a project. Not to do the work for them, but to help them demonstrate what they are truly capable of. # A responsibility to our teams and to the people we support This transformation will not happen on its own. Like any employer, we have a responsibility to our teams. To those who fear that AI will take their job, our answer is simple: the real risk is not learning how to work with it. Training our employees to use these new tools is not just a matter of performance; it is also a matter of employability. As with any major change, some people embrace it immediately while others take more time. We quickly identified our early adopters, sometimes in places we did not expect. They are endlessly curious. They test, experiment, and share their discoveries with colleagues. **To my surprise, rather than isolating people behind their screens, AI has created new conversations.** People exchange tips, compare use cases, and show each other what works. Once again, the human element finds its way back in. But our responsibility does not stop with our employees. Beyond our teams, we also have a responsibility to the people we support. Our mission has always been to help individuals find their place in society. While some organizations see AI primarily as a driver of economic performance, our starting point remains impact. Therefore, our responsibility is **to ensure that these tools become drivers of inclusion and empowerment,** rather than new sources of exclusion. # Building the foundations for the long term What makes this responsibility impossible to ignore is that one thing sets this revolution apart from those that came before it: its cost. Unlike the major digital transformations of previous decades, AI does not necessarily require massive investments to deliver tangible results. Implementing an ERP system could require significant budgets and years of work. Today, **a few dozen euros a month are enough to start experimenting,** testing ideas, and automating everyday tasks. Today, organizations can adopt a test-and-learn approach, with a fast and often immediate return on investment. Like any technological revolution, AI also raises environmental questions, reminding us that innovation must be measured not only by its efficiency, but also by its sustainability. It cannot be ignored. Of course, building an ambitious AI strategy still requires ambition. At Synergie Family, we are currently investing in the foundations that will allow us to adapt over time. We are structuring our data through a Master Data and a Data Mart approach so that we can easily connect future reporting, visualization, and AI tools. Because **while tools will come and go, data remains.** Organizations must be able to control and understand their own data: financial data, certainly, but also impact data. For impact-driven organizations, the ability to measure, understand, and demonstrate social impact is becoming just as important as financial performance. While the business world often sees AI as a powerful driver of economic value, we see something different. Its greatest promise is **not to replace people, but to reveal their potential.** Perhaps that is the paradox of artificial intelligence. The more capable machines become, the more valuable uniquely human qualities are. In the end, the real challenge is not technological. It is profoundly human. >***A few words about Synergy Family*** >*Founded in 2009, [Synergie Family](https://synergiefamily.com/) has grown from a local initiative into one of France's leading social innovation organisations, bringing together more than 700 employees across four territories. Rooted in a simple conviction that everyone has something valuable to contribute, it designs educational, socio-professional and early childhood programmes that combine learning, empowerment and action. Its strength lies in the diversity of its teams and in the dense networks of public institutions, businesses and local communities it builds on every territory.* ## Key Takeaways 1. AI is not replacing human relationships in the social sector. It is creating more room for them by absorbing the administrative tasks that crowd out meaningful interaction 2. When everyone can produce an excellent document, the deciding factor will no longer be the quality of the proposal. It will be the ability to build trust 3. AI is widening the gap between those who learn to use it and those who do not, and the people most at risk are those who were already the most vulnerable 4. For people held back by spelling mistakes or limited mastery of professional codes, AI does not create talent; sometimes, it simply helps reveal it 5. The real challenge of this revolution is not technological. It is profoundly human, and that is precisely what makes it an opportunity for impact-driven organisations --- *Article from [Albert's Deep Dive](https://deepdive.albertschool.com) - Albert School's Journal*