Why Community Beats AI
The advantage of human connection
The rapid advancement of AI has led to some very science fiction and science fact type questions. Among the top concerns? Can humanity survive the age of AI?
While industries are rising and falling at breakneck speed, mission-driven organizations have a very real competitive advantage. Community beats AI.
The irony is striking: just as AI promises to make everything more efficient and scalable, the organizations thriving today are the ones doubling down on the most inefficient, unscalable thing of all—genuine human relationships.
While many businesses chase the latest AI tools and automation strategies, the smartest leaders are asking a different question entirely: How do we use this technological moment to build deeper, more meaningful connections with the people who matter most to our mission?
While industries are rising and falling at breakneck speed, mission-driven organizations have a very real competitive advantage. Community beats AI.
– Monica Poling
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TL;DR: Organizations Building Human Connections Thrive
When AI is able to handle most of your routine tasks, community can become your ultimate competitive advantage. Organizations that treat people as transactions fail (see: Kodak, Blockbuster, Duolingo’s AI-first debacle), while those building genuine communities thrive.
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When Organizations Lose Touch with Community
History is littered with businesses that failed not just because technology changed, but because they forgot about the communities they served. Consider three cautionary tales:
Kodak had one of the most passionate communities of photographers in the world, but they treated them as customers rather than collaborators in the digital transition. Despite inventing the digital camera in 1975, Kodak clung to film as a path to profit and ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2012. They had the technology and the community—they just didn’t connect the two.
Blockbuster followed a similar path, focusing on “be kind, rewind” and late fees rather than building a community of movie lovers who could have guided a digital transformation.
The retail industry offers perhaps the most visible example of this community disconnect. The so-called “retail apocalypse” wasn’t really about the convenience of online shopping—it was about retailers who treated customers as transactions rather than community members. Sears, RadioShack, and countless department stores became sterile places to buy things, rather than building communities around their products. Instead, they chose to compete solely on convenience and price where Amazon would always have the advantage.
Meanwhile, the retailers thriving today—Patagonia, REI, local bookstores, farmers markets, breweries with taprooms—are all building strong communities around shared values and experiences. They created reasons for people to gather, learn, and connect beyond just buying products.
Brick-and-mortar retail’s real advantage has never been just its products; it’s also been about creating a shared experience for the people who love those products.
Retailers thriving today—Patagonia, REI, local bookstores, farmers markets, breweries with taprooms—are all building strong communities around shared values and experiences. They created reasons for people to gather, learn, and connect beyond just buying products.
– Monica Poling
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AI’s Community Paradox
Here’s the paradox of our AI age: as artificial intelligence handles more routine tasks, people are constantly bombarded by news and predictions about how humanity will be obsolete within the next two decades (or less).
But what never appears in those articles is the irreplaceable part of human ingenuity and creative spirit that AI in its current form cannot replace. AI cannot look to the skies and think, “This space-age technology guiding spacecraft would make a great tool to make pizza delivery more efficient.”
The other thing AI cannot replace? Community.
Take social media. Social media built a supremely competitive platform, cloaked in a costume of community. A veritable wolf in sheep’s clothing. While its connectivity gives the appearance of community, in fact it is the ultimate “mean girl” platform. “This is how I am cooler than you and this is how I earn more than you.” That messaging has become isolating, often setting standards most humans cannot meet. It is aspiration hidden as community, and not community as shared values.
AI is adding to that equation. Fears over job displacement, creative appropriation, and economic disruption are adding to the isolation people are feeling. Today, people crave human connection more than ever. This isn’t speculation—it’s a documented reality.
This craving for community is exactly why online community platforms like Mighty Networks and Circle are thriving while traditional membership models (from museums to associations to nonprofits) struggle.
Many traditional membership models still tout “support us to support the cause,” often with ill-defined or even imaginary benefits. (Or at benefits that don’t benefit the members) Community models, many of which are generating millions and even billions for today’s “creators,” focus on education and access—access to the leaders creating the models and access to people who have a direct line to mission.
AI can never replace community. In fact, it makes authentic community more valuable than ever. When anyone can generate content, code, or analysis with a few prompts, what becomes precious is the human insight, shared experience, and genuine relationships that only real communities can provide.
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The Duolingo AI Misstep
Here’s another way organizations go wrong: they become obsessed with doing things “at scale.” Efficiency and scale aren’t inherently bad—they’re necessary for growth. But when pursued without regard for human connection, they become the antithesis of community building.
Consider Duolingo’s spectacular misstep in 2025. CEO Luis von Ahn announced the company would “phase out contractors for work that can be handled by AI” as part of becoming an “AI-first” company. The efficiency gains seemed obvious—why pay humans when AI could do the work faster and cheaper?
The community response was swift and devastating. Users flooded social media with criticism, with “the top comments on virtually every recent post” having “nothing to do with the company—and everything to do with the company’s embrace of AI.” The backlash became so intense that Duolingo deleted all its TikTok and Instagram posts, essentially going dark on platforms where it had millions of followers.
Within weeks, von Ahn was forced to walk back his stance, writing on LinkedIn: “To be clear: I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do (we are in fact continuing to hire at the same speed as before).”
What Duolingo learned the hard way is that efficiency without humanity alienates the very communities that make organizations valuable. Users didn’t just want language lessons—they wanted to feel connected to real people creating their learning experience.
Efficiency Vs Humanity: The Fundamental Tension
Here’s the fundamental tension: “efficiency” is a boardroom word, while “customer service” is a customer word. Both priorities will always be important. But they’ll always be at odds financially.
Ultimately, however, no customers means no growth. The pursuit of scale at the expense of human connection nearly destroyed one a beloved educational brand.
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The Organizations Seizing the Community Opportunity
While some organizations resist change, others are discovering powerful new ways to build community around their mission:
Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) are discovering that community alignment is among their most important priorities As overtourism rapidly becomes the “word of the year,” many organizations are seeing a shift in their entire operating model—the “M” shifting from marketing to management. Rather than just generating “visit us” campaigns, DMOs are now focusing on engaging communities in sharing their stories and building lasting connections.
One need look no further than the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority to see how community impacts the tourism story (and when ignored, the community voice can drive away valuable travelers). In the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Spring 2025 update, it wrote: “Our Stewardship Team discussed our continued work to advance regenerative tourism experiences and improve the balance between tourism’s impacts and its economic benefits to mālama our people, places, and culture.” The story isn’t about more visitors, it’s about the community.
The American Booksellers Association exemplifies another model of community-first thinking in action. While many predicted independent bookstores would disappear, ABA saw an 11% increase in membership in 2024, with 2,433 bookstore companies representing 2,844 store locations.
Their success comes from recognizing that their members provide inclusive community centers, connect readers and books, and add character to neighborhoods—they’re not just selling books, they’re building literary communities.
Perhaps Andrew Laties said it best in his 2011 book, Rebel Bookseller: Why Indie Bookstores Represent Everything You Want to Fight for from Free Speech to Buying Local to Building Communities—a sentiment that clearly has held up for more than a decade.
Museums and cultural organizations are also rapidly shifting from static “art on the walls” to becoming community gathering spaces—online and off. They’re blending physical and digital elements to create ongoing relationships rather than just striving for one-time visits. New models include free admission on select days to encourage repeat visits, after-dark activities designed for participants who want to meet fellow art, history, or heritage enthusiasts. Other innovations continue to drive museum growth, like art walks and collaborative projects where local art becomes part of the larger collective.
The Getty Museum Challenge, inspired by Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum’s “Stay At Home Challenge,” encouraged thousands of people around the world to recreate famous art pieces using only household items. Not only did the campaign receive thousands of original posts, it went viral generating millions of views for the Getty, via blogs, social media, and media articles.
The Annual Conference: For many trade organizations, the annual conference is the money maker. Sponsorships, conference fees, all add up to make up one of the biggest line items on the 990 form. What’s missing from this equation is giving conference attendees a way to stay in touch beyond the conference. Imagine creating year-round digital spaces where attendees can continue conversations, share resources, and collaborate on industry challenges. The conference becomes the launch point for ongoing community engagement, not just a once-a-year revenue event. Organizations that master this transition see dramatically higher member retention and engagement throughout the year.
When times are tough… Here’s something telling: when today’s most resilient organizations face funding challenges or need support, where do they turn? To their newsletters and their communities. “Please write a letter of support.” That’s not coincidence—it’s proof that genuine community relationships are the most valuable asset any organization can build.
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The Choice Ahead
While we don’t yet know AI’s full impact, we do know the world is changing because of it. Mission-driven organizations have two paths forward. They can resist these changes and wring their hands about how AI is evil and ruining everything (and stand in line with the people who are still waiting for this “internet fad” to go away). This is surely the best path to becoming the next Kodak.
Or they can recognize that while AI is shifting how people consume information, it is not shifting people’s need to be part of something meaningful. In fact, AI has made it easier to build larger ecosystems that people really care about joining.
Change can be painful. Adapting your strategy, learning new approaches, and sometimes rebuilding from the ground up requires effort and courage. And a little bit of experimentation to test what will resonate.
The organizations that will flourish in the coming decade won’t be those with the most advanced AI tools or the biggest marketing budgets. They’ll be the ones that understand the community paradox: in an age of artificial intelligence, human connection becomes the ultimate competitive advantage.
The question isn’t whether change is coming—it’s already here. The question is whether you’ll use it to build stronger communities or become another cautionary tale about what happens when organizations forget why people need them in the first place.
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Customers Want to Know
FAQ: Understanding Community Engagement
A: An audience consumes your content; a community creates alongside you. Audiences are one-way relationships where you broadcast and they receive. Communities are multi-directional, where members connect with each other, not just with you. If your “community” only talks to you and never to each other, you have an audience. True communities generate conversations you didn’t start.
A: Small organizations actually have significant advantages. You can be more personal, more responsive, and more aligned with specific values. Big platforms optimize for engagement with one-size-fits-all solutions; you can optimize for meaningful connection. Your “disadvantage” in resources becomes an advantage in authenticity. Focus on depth over breadth—100 truly engaged community members are worth more than 10,000 passive followers.
A: Frame it in terms leadership understands: customer lifetime value, retention rates, and acquisition costs. Community members stay longer, spend more, and refer others—all of which improve your bottom line. Point to the organizations in your sector that are thriving through community building. Most importantly, show them what happens to organizations that ignore community (like the examples in this article).
A: Building authentic community takes time. It can be measured in years, not months. You might see initial engagement within 3-6 months, but deep community relationships typically take 18-24 months to fully develop. The good news? Mission-driven organizations have more access to passionate participants. It is easier to build community around a mission rather than a product. Start now, be consistent, and focus on serving your community’s needs rather than rushing to grow your numbers. Quality relationships built slowly last longer than quick wins built on hype.
A: Social media platforms can host communities, but they’re not communities themselves. Most social media interactions are performative—people posting for likes and shares rather than genuine connection. Real community happens when members support each other, not just your brand. If your Facebook group is just people asking you questions and never talking to each other, it’s an audience using a community platform. True community transcends any single platform.
A: Popular options include Mighty Networks and Circle, both designed specifically for community building with features like member directories, discussion threads, and event hosting. WordPress has plugins that can be customized for community building, but by the time you do all the development work to match what specialized platforms offer out of the box, you might be better off choosing a platform that specializes in community features. The key is picking something that makes member-to-member connection easy, not just broadcasting from you to them.
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Quick Wins
Five Ways to Start Building Community
Create introductions. Share members or community participants doing great things in your newsletter. This not only provides practical advice, it encourages community to “do more” to get featured.
Ask members to volunteer their expertise. Your most passionate supporters have valuable skills. Invite them to lead a workshop on grant writing, share fundraising strategies, or mentor newer organizations. When members become teachers around mission work, they deepen their commitment to your cause.
Start a “mission wins and challenges” thread. Create a regular space where members share recent advocacy victories and current obstacles in their work. Others will naturally offer congratulations, resources, and collaborative solutions—building relationships around shared purpose.
Facilitate mission-focused problem-solving circles. When someone posts about a challenge in their advocacy work, ask “Who else has tackled this issue?” Connect members facing similar mission challenges with those who’ve found solutions. Let the community strengthen the movement together.
Design peer storytelling events. Replace expert panels with peer storytelling sessions where members present their advocacy work, share lessons learned, or discuss innovative approaches to common mission challenges. People connect deeply around shared purpose and real experiences.
Create member mission spotlights. Regularly feature members’ advocacy work, campaign successes, or innovative programs. This celebrates their mission contributions while inspiring others to reach out, collaborate, or adapt similar strategies for their own work.
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The Bottom Line: Growth Equals Customers
If there’s one truism I spout over all others it’s this: Growth Equals Customers. If you want to grow your impact, your value, and your revenue, you need a customer-first approach.
By building a community around your mission, you’re not just creating supporters—you’re creating advocates who amplify your work, volunteers who extend your capacity, and champions who defend your cause when times get tough. These relationships become your organization’s most valuable asset, more important than any technology, marketing budget, or strategic plan.
The AI revolution isn’t coming—it’s here. But instead of making human connection obsolete, it’s making authentic community the ultimate differentiator. Organizations that understand this paradox and act on it now will thrive. Those that don’t will become cautionary tales for the next generation of leaders.
The choice is yours. Will you build a community that can weather any storm, or will you become another organization that forgot why people need you in the first place?
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