The Rotary Club of St. Marys welcomed Laurie Hawkins as guest speaker on Monday evening for a timely and thought-provoking presentation on artificial intelligence, leadership, and the future of human connection.
Laurie is the founder of Talk Inspired, a leadership strategist, and host of the podcast Leading in an Age of AI: Human First, Future Ready. Raised on a farm near Kirkton and the daughter of longtime Rotarian Len Hawkins, Lori shared both professional insights and personal reflections during an engaging presentation that sparked significant discussion among members and guests.
Lori opened by acknowledging the uncertainty many people feel surrounding artificial intelligence.
“This is the biggest disruption that I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime,” she said. “People are feeling a strange mix of fascination and fear.”
Rather than focusing solely on the technology itself, Lori emphasized that the conversation about AI is ultimately about leadership, adaptation, and humanity.
She compared today’s AI revolution to previous periods of technological disruption, including the arrival of the printing press, electricity, the telephone, and the internet. In each case, society initially reacted with fear and uncertainty before eventually adapting and transforming.
“The pattern of history is not about human collapse,” Lori explained. “The pattern is about human reinvention.”
Throughout the evening, Lori repeatedly returned to a central theme: that human qualities are becoming more important — not less important — in an AI-driven world.
She highlighted traits such as empathy, creativity, leadership, adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence as the skills that will matter most in the future.
“Your humanity is not becoming obsolete,” she said. “It’s becoming more essential.”
Lori also challenged the idea that AI should replace people, instead suggesting it can free people from repetitive tasks and create more time for creativity, service, and human connection.
She shared practical examples of how AI is already helping individuals and organizations:
- summarizing reports and meetings
- organizing projects
- assisting with presentations and communications
- supporting small businesses
- preserving family stories and history
- reducing administrative workload
In a moment that resonated strongly with Rotary members, Lori suggested that organizations like Rotary may become even more important in the years ahead.
“Humans need humans,” she said. “Especially in uncertain times.”
She spoke about younger generations increasingly seeking authentic connection, community experiences, mentorship, and opportunities to unplug from technology-driven isolation.
The presentation also included a lively question-and-answer session covering topics such as:
- AI-generated resumes and authenticity
- education and plagiarism detection
- misinformation and governance
- criminal misuse of AI
- environmental impacts and energy consumption
- balancing technology with ethics and humanity
Lori encouraged members not to blindly fear technology — but also not to blindly worship it.
“The future will belong to the people who learn to lead through change,” she said. “People who can combine technology with wisdom, innovation with ethics, speed with humanity, and progress with heart.”
At the conclusion of the evening, Lori was presented with a children’s book on behalf of the Rotary Club’s literacy initiative, with a copy donated to the St. Marys Public Library in her honour.
Rotary members expressed strong appreciation for the presentation, with many commenting afterward on both the relevance of the topic and Lori’s optimistic, human-centered approach to a rapidly changing world.
In the spirit of Laurie's presentation, this Story was created using a collaborative process that combined AI-assisted drafting, AI-generated graphics, and human editing. The approach helped reduce production time while also supporting a clearer and more polished final result — demonstrating how technology can enhance, rather than replace, human creativity and communication.