Why Empathy Might Be the Most Underrated AI Skill.

My mum always says my mouth has been my superpower...

Or, as she'd probably put it...

"You just never stopped asking why." 😂

As a child, I questioned everything.

Why does that work like that?

Why do people behave like that?

Why couldn't it be done differently?

Looking back, I think that's probably why I've always been fascinated by people more than anything else.

I studied Psychology because I wanted to understand people.

More recently, I've spent evenings learning UX/UI through Love Circular, trying to understand why people click certain buttons and ignore others.

I even found myself learning HTML and CSS through Code First Girls... despite promising myself I'd never become "technical."

And somehow... all of those random interests have collided at exactly the right time.

Because now I'm building a tech product.

And honestly, that sentence still feels strange to write.

I don't come from a software engineering background.

I'm not a developer.

I couldn't build an application from scratch six months ago.

But I've realised something...

The most important skill hasn't been knowing how to code.

It's been knowing how to communicate.

Vibe coding has completely changed the way I think about building.

For the first time, I can describe exactly what's in my head and watch it become something real.

I don't need to know every line of code.

I need to know the experience I want someone to have.

That's always been my thing.

Empathy.

Curiosity.

Communication.

Understanding how people think and feel.

That's the part I don't think AI replaces.

If anything, it's become even more valuable.

Because AI can write code.

But it doesn't know how I want someone to feel when they land on my website for the first time.

It doesn't know the excitement I want someone to experience before proposing.

It doesn't know why a tiny piece of copy might make someone feel reassured enough to finally click "Book."

Those decisions still come from people.

I'm currently rebuilding Balloonology into something much bigger than balloon decorations.

It's becoming a hospitality-led experience, supported by AI, thoughtful design and hopefully a lot of empathy.

And every single page has become an obsession.

Not because I'm trying to build the fanciest website.

Because I'm trying to build one that makes people feel something.

So if you're reading this as someone who's always thought...

"I'm not technical enough to build that idea..."

I'd really encourage you to rethink what's actually valuable.

Technical skills can be learned.

AI can help fill knowledge gaps.

But curiosity...

Empathy...

Understanding people...

Those are much harder to teach.

Maybe that's why my mum was right all along.

Maybe my mouth really was my superpower.