Weekly Human #16
AI Task Force Brussels #BestOfLinkedIn
I’m writing this newsletter in English - it feels fair to my English-speaking connections on LinkedIn and appropriate given the topic. So here’s why you should care. I’ve been a member of the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) AI Task Force for 21 months. And now, for the first time, we’re all about to meet in person in Brussels. What we’re about to discuss isn’t just important for the communication industry—it’s relevant to… well, any company that has at least a Facebook account 🙂
This article was initially posted on LinkedIn in January 2026.
The EACA AI Task Force
Any task force is usually made up of people connected by shared professional experience and interests. When the team at the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA) invited communicators from across Europe to join this Task Force, Dana Nae Popa (owner of pastel and president of UAPR) and members at Uniunea Agențiilor de Publicitate din Romania (UAPR) asked me if I’d like to be involved.
Why did I say yes? The Human Side of AI
Ever since I studied the cognitive psychology roots of generative AI at the faculty, almost 3 years ago, I realized that the conversation regarding artificial intelligence simply can’t be just about the techy side of things. I wondered, then, whether discussing the human side of AI is of any relevance.
The idea of the week
I always write one idea and one exercise in this weekly newsletter. This time, I want to discuss why the human side of AI matters to me.
The fact that understanding the human mind helps us better use AI is no new hypothesis - there are people a lot smarter than I dream to ever be who discuss this on a global scale. So to me, it was just how I felt we should look at artificial intelligence. In fact, a while ago, I even put up a workshop centered on this view, where I discussed why words (really) are all you need to use genAI at its best. I still think it’s valid.
I took this view to class, as well. As an associated teacher at Facultatea de Comunicare si Relatii Publice along with Alexandru Nicusor Matei we tried to tell students that AI is not something you should fear. It’s a tool you need to hire as your personal assistant - from the very beginning. We even designed all the assignments and the final project, specifically asking them to use AI in the process. And we’ve been doing this for two years now.
So, while our work at the EACA AI Task Force has been focusing on the big issues, such as AI Policy, Industry Insights, or how AI is changing the way communication agencies deliver the story, I will try to explore my hypothesis with the other members.
I still believe that understanding the human mind is a competitive advantage in the AI race we’re in.
I also intend to bring up the AI slop, overreliance, “automation bias,” as well as cognitive offloading.
The week’s exercise
So here’s my invitation to you: take this exercise to notice where you outsource thinking to AI, and what kind of thinking you’re giving up.
Step 1 (2 minutes)
Think of one task this week where you used AI (or were about to): writing a post; structuring a presentation; summarizing a document; generating ideas.
Write down, in one sentence: What was I hoping AI would do instead of me?
Step 2 (3 minutes)
Now answer this, honestly: Which mental effort was I avoiding?
Pick one: deciding what really matters, tolerating uncertainty, forming an opinion, starting from a blank page, slowing down.
Step 3 (3 minutes)
Redo just the first 10% of the task without AI: the opening paragraph, the core idea, the key question.
Then - and only then - use AI to continue.
Step 4 (2 minutes)
Notice the difference: Did AI replace your thinking - or extend it?
If it extended it, you used it well. If it replaced it, you outsourced something
valuable.
P.S.
I’m happy to bring back fresh knowledge from Brussels and can’t wait to discuss how we could use it locally with both Uniunea Agențiilor de Publicitate din Romania (UAPR) board and students attending Ziua Publicității in march (Advertising Day, a local event organized by IAA Romania and UAPR).
What do you think?
Weekly Human is a newsletter where I deliver distilled solutions—solutions shaped by lived experience across multiple fields:
Psychology and cognitive sciences (clinical and educational psychologist in supervision; Process-Based Therapy psychotherapist in training),
Communication (12+ years; Communication Product Developer at pastel; former copywriter; co-host and strategist of Efectiv Podcast),
The human side of artificial intelligence (AI in communication; member of the EACA AI Task Force),
University teaching (associate lecturer at the Faculty of Communication and Public Relations – Making Media: Editing and Design),
Parenting, with a focus on fathers and divorced/separated fathers, as the founder of DadsAround and as a father myself.