Everywhere you look, AI is being heralded as the next great leap. It’s optimizing industries, automating tasks, and maybe even replacing people in certain roles. But let’s ask the real question: how intelligent is AI, truly?

AI can be efficient. It can spot patterns faster than we can blink, process data like a superhuman accountant, and churn out content at breakneck speed. But is that intelligence? Or is it just a sophisticated calculator, crunching data without any sense of meaning?

Intelligence—real, human intelligence—goes beyond data processing. It’s about understanding context, about knowing why something matters. It’s about the nuance of empathy, creativity, and leadership. AI doesn’t know how to build trust, lead a team through uncertainty, or create something genuinely new. It can follow patterns, but it can’t inspire.

And this is where we need to pay attention. While AI might get better at completing tasks, it’s not going to replace what we as humans bring to the table: connection, meaning, and purpose. The irony is that as AI becomes smarter at doing what machines do—automating repetitive, process-driven work—it highlights the skills that AI can’t replicate. It reminds us just how important human intelligence is.

So, what should we focus on now? It’s not about trying to outdo AI at its own game. Let it handle the number crunching and repetitive tasks. What we need to double down on are the uniquely human skills—leadership, emotional intelligence, creativity. These are the traits that will become more valuable, not less, as AI continues to evolve.

In the end, AI is not a threat to human intelligence; it’s a tool that will force us to rediscover it. AI will never replace the leader who can connect with a team or the creator who brings something original into the world. If anything, it will make those roles more crucial than ever.

So, how intelligent is AI? Not very. Because real intelligence—real value—isn’t about processing power. It’s about heart, connection, and purpose. And that’s something no algorithm will ever replicate.