Award-winning lecturer says humanity overcomes AI

Northeastern University marketing professor Koen Pauwels was the recipient of the 62nd annual Robert D. Klein University Lecturer Award

Koen Pauwels, distinguished professor of marketing, received a medal from President Joseph E. Aoun after delivering the Robert D. Klein Lecture. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

From completing mundane tasks to making recommendations, artificial intelligence has enabled machines to touch many aspects of our daily lives.

But Northeastern University marketing professor Koen Pauwels said that one thing AI can’t touch is your humanity, and in an increasingly technology-dominated world, your humanity is your most valuable asset.

“AI has gotten better, there is absolutely no doubt about it,” said Pauwels, associate dean of research and distinguished professor of marketing at Northeastern. But “as AI is getting better, it helps us focus on what is genuinely human and what we can contribute in the future.”

Pauwels was the recipient of the 62nd annual Robert D. Klein University Lecturer Award, an honor established in 1964 that highlights a faculty member who has contributed with distinction to their field of study. On Tuesday afternoon at the Cabral Center in the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute on Northeastern’s Boston campus, Pauwels delivered his lecture, “The AI Authenticity Paradox: Why Machines are Making Us More Human,” on his research and scholarship on the use of AI in marketing.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to celebrate cutting-edge, translational research with you today,” said Beth Winkelstein, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern, in introducing Pauwels. “It’s so wonderful to come together and to reflect on the important and timely topic of AI.”

Pauwels began the lecture, appropriately, with an advertisement that demonstrated the promise — and limitations — of AI.

In the ad, from the AI company Anthropic for its product Claude, a muscular young man representing a chatbot answers a scrawny man’s question, “How to develop a six-pack?” in quite technical and robotic language.

Beth Winkelstein gestures with her hands and smiles while speaking at a podium with an American flag visible behind her. — 03/24/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Koen Pauwels, Associate Dean of Research and Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, delivers the 62nd Annual Robert D. Klein Lecture on The AI Authenticity Paradox: Why Machines Are Making Us More Human at the John D. O’Bryant Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Following the lecture Pauwels receives a medal from Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun and participates in a Q&A with Rashmi Dyal-Chand and members of the audience. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

A wide shot of an auditorium-style room where an audience faces Koen Pauwels standing at a podium and a large projection screen behind him with a slide that says 'Frame your AI disclosure for benefits'. — 03/24/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Koen Pauwels, Associate Dean of Research and Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, delivers the 62nd Annual Robert D. Klein Lecture on The AI Authenticity Paradox: Why Machines Are Making Us More Human at the John D. O’Bryant Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Following the lecture Pauwels receives a medal from Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun and participates in a Q&A with Rashmi Dyal-Chand and members of the audience. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

The chatbot’s answer was “personalized, as was promised,” Pauwels said. “But it was also a bit creepy.”

It’s a common pitfall.

Pauwels noted that “AI aversion” has been demonstrated widely in marketing and even in areas like radiology, where the technology has been proven to be more effective than human review alone.

Blunders have not helped reduce that aversion.

Pauwels cited an incident in which the department store Target allegedly used AI to analyze customer purchases in order to send targeted (true to its name!) advertisements for pregnancy products … and outed a teen’s pregnancy.

A close-up of Koen Pauwels hands holding a gold medal on a red ribbon. The inscription on the medal reads '2026 Klein Lecturer, Koen Pauwels, D'Amore McKim School of Business.' — 03/24/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Koen Pauwels, Associate Dean of Research and Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, delivers the 62nd Annual Robert D. Klein Lecture on The AI Authenticity Paradox: Why Machines Are Making Us More Human at the John D. O’Bryant Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Following the lecture Pauwels receives a medal from Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun and participates in a Q&A with Rashmi Dyal-Chand and members of the audience. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Koen Pauwels wearing a dark blazer, red tie, and Klein Lecturer medallion poses with a group of five other people, including Beth Winkelstein and President Aoun, in front of a presentation screen displaying several images and text that says 'Invest in Humans. Thanks! Questions?' at a Northeastern event. — 03/24/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Koen Pauwels, Associate Dean of Research and Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, delivers the 62nd Annual Robert D. Klein Lecture on The AI Authenticity Paradox: Why Machines Are Making Us More Human at the John D. O’Bryant Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Following the lecture Pauwels receives a medal from Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun and participates in a Q&A with Rashmi Dyal-Chand and members of the audience. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Meanwhile, at least in the United States, AI is graduating from the “hype stage” on the Gartner Hype Cycle where everyone tries to get in on the hottest new technology, to the “disillusionment stage” as we learn about AI’s limitations.

So, how do you counter these challenges? You double down, said Pauwels.

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“Four studies, in two continents, and in every case, getting better at using AI actually helps you to sell, invest,” Pauwels said after summarizing studies analyzing AI research focused on consumers, marketing and worker behavior.

Ultimately, AI can provide us with information and answers, Pauwels said, but it can’t provide us with judgment, and judgment reflects your humanity and lived experience.

“AI is getting better, and that’s exactly why being genuinely you is becoming more, not less, valuable,” Pauwels said. “It’s up to you to choose to do with that what you want.”

Pauwels concluded the talk with his choice — citing his “personal slogan: invest in humans.”

It’s a point that at least one person in the audience seems to have taken to heart. Certain things can’t be replaced by AI, Northeastern’s President Joseph E. Aoun emphasized when presenting the Klein award, a bronze-colored medallion engraved with the university’s seal, to Pauwels following the lecture.

“It’s not a virtual medal,” Aoun joked. “AI cannot give you that.”