Edmond Rostand’s play, “Cyrano de Bergerac,” centers on a self-conscious poet named Cyrano who assists his handsome but less articulate friend Christian in winning the heart of Roxane, a woman whom they both love. As we all know, by presenting Cyrano’s eloquent words as his own, Christian ultimately wins Roxane’s affection.

Today, AI plays a similar role in reshaping our relationships. Like Cyrano, AI often acts as the unseen ghostwriter, strategist, or partner, offering insights or phrasing that feel more articulate and persuasive than our own. But, as in the play, this arrangement introduces social complexities, ethical dilemmas, and maybe even heartbreak. Could this AI-driven world be a romantic tragedy in disguise?

When The Words Aren’t Truly Our Own: The Cost Of AI Assistance

Just as Cyrano provided the content for Christian’s spoken words, AI uses foundational modeling and processing power to generate outputs as content — words, images, videos, and even analysis — in less time and often with better results than any one individual could hope to achieve. And this is while AI is still a developing innovation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman estimates that “every year, we move one standard deviation of IQ.”

At first glance, this assistance to our lives seems like a good thing, right? But if brilliance comes from an unseen source, whose brilliance is it? Moreover, when everyone relies on the same single “conspirator,” does individuality lose its meaning? To function properly, our social fabric relies on authenticity, transparency, and a certain amount of “truth” in what we see and hear. Three significant shifts in our reality are already evident and present business challenges:

  • Ubiquitously borrowed eloquence. Who should we choose for anything when all the words, insights, actions, and knowledge come from or are directed by the same source? As companies search for high-quality talent, how will they distinguish “fit” when candidates can use AI to craft perfect interview answers. Some candidates even use AI during virtual interviews to answer questions in real time. As a result, companies like Google and McKinsey & Company have returned to in-person interviews to combat the use of AI for “cheating” during the recruitment process.
  • Perils of inauthenticity. Just as Roxane fell for Christian through Cyrano’s words, AI introduces a potential gap between expression and authenticity. Forrester’s data shows that 71% of US consumers say that they can relate to authentic brands and therefore want to back them, and 70% report that authentic brands give them a “stronger feeling of confidence.” This situation has already created tension in business and creative fields, where AI-generated (like Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ad) content can dazzle but also alienate audiences who crave authenticity.
  • Conspirator, collaborator, or successor. Cyrano and Christian achieved something neither could alone. Similarly, AI has the potential to amplify human output and creativity by filling skill or resource gaps. Yet this ideal partnership is not always realized. Companies like Salesforce, which laid off 4,000 employees because it needed “less heads,” suggest some companies are using AI to replace rather than collaborate with humans. To state the obvious, Salesforce AI tools can’t work with employees if those people don’t work there anymore.

The task before us is not to reject the unseen whisperer (that ship has sailed), but to ensure that AI — our Cyrano — remains a side character, allowing the voice that emerges to still be unmistakably our own.

If you’re a Forrester client and wish to discuss ways your organization can counter the impacts of these elements as they become more pronounced, schedule time with me to review how other organizations are preparing themselves for this future.