The Untapped Advantage: The Human Factor in an AI World
Jose Francis Llenado (RPsy, MA.Org Psy, BS Psy)
Carolyn Burr (M.Lead, Grad.Dip.Couns, B.A.)
Over time, we've seen resumes become online profiles, offices become digital workplaces, and more recently, AI become a workplace companion. I was reminded of this in a conversation with someone this week, who spoke about a time when a single printing machine occupied an entire floor of a publishing house – now this has largely shifted due to technology. Today, that same capability can potentially sit in our pockets, our laptops, and increasingly in the tools we use every day. So much has changed.
Yet despite all this transformation, one question has remained remarkably constant:
What helps people be their best?
The tools may have changed. The speed of work has changed. The way we communicate, learn and collaborate has changed. However, the human challenge remains much the same: understanding where we can contribute most effectively, what type of work energises us, and how we can sustain engagement and wellbeing throughout our careers.
As careers become less linear, skills evolve more rapidly, and artificial intelligence becomes embedded in how work is performed, there is growing interest in helping people better understand not only engagement in the workforce, but also the types of work that can energise, engage and sustain them over time.
One framework that has informed career development for decades is Holland's RIASEC model, which describes six broad vocational interest domains: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and Conventional.
In contrast to viewing career decisions purely through the angle of qualifications or experience, RIASEC encourages reflection on the sorts of activities, environments and work experiences individuals are naturally drawn towards. This remains today as one of most highly cited in contemporary career guidance practice (Wong, Quek and Yang, 2026).
At Untapped, this thinking has been an influencer in the development of the UntappedME Compass™ - Compass incorporates strengths-based and interest-informed principles to support individuals to look at self-awareness, career exploration and engagement alignment.
The Compass is not intended to define who someone is - rather, it provides a structured way for individuals to reflect on what they enjoy and contribution that may feel most engaging and meaningful to them.
Beyond Interests: Understanding Fit
One of the reasons vocational interests remain relevant is that engagement at work is often influenced by more than technical capability alone.
Research on person-job fit suggests that alignment between individuals and their work environments can influence outcomes such as engagement, satisfaction, commitment and performance (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; Huang et al., 2019).
Importantly, this does not suggest that interests determine success. Human behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of individual characteristics, workplace environments, leadership, opportunity and life circumstances.
However, understanding interests can provide valuable insight into the environments and activities that individuals may find naturally motivating. That ‘aha moment’ this feels more attuned towards my natural passion!
For example, some individuals may be energised by creative exploration and idea generation, while others may prefer analytical investigation, helping and supporting others, influencing outcomes, artistic pursuits or working within highly structured setting.
The idea is not just about seeing where a person is today, but on supporting reflection about where they may wish to grow in the future.
Wellness
One of the most important lessons emerging from positive psychology is that sustainable performance cannot be separated from wellbeing.
People rarely do their strongest work when they are overwhelmed, disconnected, exhausted, or depleted on a sense of purpose. Increasingly, organisations are recognising that practices such as reflection, gratitude, strengths awareness, mindfulness, social connection and personal growth are not simply wellness activities- they are capabilities that can help people navigate and develop over time.
These themes are reflected across positive psychology and wellbeing frameworks such as the PERMA Model (Basistha and Bhuyan, 2024), which highlights the importance of engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment – very much happiness based.
This can be built through small, consistent practices rather than major interventions. Taking time to reflect, recognising strengths, celebrating progress, or acknowledging meaningful contributions can all play a role in building greater self-awareness and wellbeing.
At Untapped, this thinking has influenced our interest in wellness initiatives, which encourages individuals to view wellbeing not as an outlier, but as an important part of who you are wholistically and how you can gain balance and tap into potential.
Human Potential in an AI-Enabled World
The rise of artificial intelligence has introduced new opportunities for learning, productivity and workforce development.
Emerging research suggests that AI can support activities such as information processing, personalisation of learning, knowledge discovery and decision support when used alongside human judgement (Nguyen & Elbanna, 2025).
At the same time, capabilities such as curiosity, creativity, empathy, adaptability and critical thinking remain essential, reflecting the somewhat unquantifiable and unique qualities that it is to be human.
In this setting, rather than viewing technology and human capability as competing forces, many organisations are now exploring how intelligent technologies can complement and enhance human strengths, creating new forms of human-AI augmentation and collaboration (Nguyen & Elbanna, 2025). With now 10’s of 10,000s of AI tools, the enhancement opportunities are vast. Just the other day for instance, our team whilst maintaining human expertise at the centre, worked with Eleven Labs to support multi-versions of language for adaptability, scale and reach.
This creates an opportunity to think differently about workforce development - moving beyond a focus on technical capability alone and toward a broader understanding of how individuals learn, contribute and innovate in unique ways.
The Role of Context
Trait Activation Theory provides another useful perspective.
The theory suggests that characteristics and strengths are often expressed differently depending on the situations, environments and opportunities available to individuals (Tett et al., 2021).
In other words, capability does not exist in isolation. The workplace environment matters. Leadership, role design and learning opportunities matter. As such, what motivates or ignites one person, may not motivate or spark another.
This reinforces the importance of creating workplaces that allow diverse strengths and approaches to be seen and fostered.
Broader Applications Across the Untapped7 Ecosystem
For our work at Untapped7, interest-based and strengths-based thinking extends beyond a single tool.
These ideas have informed a broader suite of learning, development, wellness and workforce initiatives designed to help individuals explore how they learn, contribute and grow.
For example:
Trait Detective® encourages participants to explore behavioural preferences and team dynamics through experiential learning and reflection. The game also features a Neurodiverse Expansion Pack.
Quest Detective® uses challenge-based activities to support collaboration, creativity and problem-solving.
Reflective Detective™ focuses on self-awareness, wellbeing, reflection and personal growth.
Seven Embers explores the relationship between interests, purpose, values and meaningful contribution.
Across these initiatives, the emphasis is on creating opportunities for play, experience, insight, discussion, experimentation and practical application.
On the Horizon
As organisations navigate workforce transformation, inclusion, wellbeing and AI adoption, it couldn’t be truer that understanding people may be one of the most important capabilities of all.
Afterall, people with all their beautiful quirks and intricacies, bring a remarkably unique combinations of interests, experiences, aspirations, strengths, relationships and perspectives.
It remains to experience these differences and create richer conversations about learning, contribution, growth and possibility – who knows what potential is ahead for us all!
When people understand better what energises them, how they can contribute in a fulfilling way and what helps them be their best, we can unlock potential.
This Article contains cited materials from existing evidence-based sources. All referenced content is cited using APA format to ensure academic rigor and transparency. A comprehensive list of references is provided at the base of the article, as well as in text citations is the article sections
The reference listing, simplifying language and flow included in this article were constructed with the assistance of AI. AI organized APA formatting based on the meta tagging of the bulleted journal articles and references.
References
Basistha, B, Bhuayn, K (2024). The PERMA model in practice: Exploring Life Satisfaciton and Wellbeing. Journal of Applied and School Psychology, 6, 463 – 473.
Holland, J. L. (1997). Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments (3rd ed.). Psychological Assessment Resources.
Huang, W., Yuan, C., & Li, M. (2019). Person–job fit and innovation behavior: Roles of job involvement and career commitment. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1134.
Kristof-Brown, A. L., Zimmerman, R. D., & Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals' fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281–342.
Nguyen, T., & Elbanna, A. (2025). Understanding human-AI augmentation in the workplace: A review and future research agenda. Information Systems Frontiers.
Tett, R. P., Toich, M. J., & Ozkum, S. B. (2021). Trait Activation Theory: A review of the literature and applications to five lines of personality dynamics research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 8, 199–233.
Wei, R. (2024). Examining the influence of the RIASEC theory within the Holland code on students' academic performance in their chosen disciplines among the context of higher education. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2391274.
Wong Z, Quek F and Yang H (2026) RIASEC self-assessment tools as career interventions: theory and effectiveness. Front. Organ. Psychol. 4.