Words Can Save Your Life — But Only If You Know How to Use Them
Introduction: The Most Powerful Tool You Already Have
Simon Lancaster opened his keynote with a parachute. Four passengers, three chutes, one plane going down — and the person who jumps to their death is the one who used his words worst. It is a brilliant, disarming way to make a point that runs through everything Simon does: communication is not a soft skill. It is the skill.
The Question Nobody in AI Thought to Ask
When ChatGPT launched, it changed everything. But Simon noticed something odd: the people behind it seemed to have no idea how to talk about it. Compare the reaction to an Apple launch — the queues, the excitement, the cultural moment — and the contrast is stark. So Simon asked himself: how would Steve Jobs have done it?
That question becomes the spine of the whole talk, and it leads Simon through three rhetorical devices he argues Jobs would have deployed from day one.
The Three Things Steve Jobs Would Have Got Right
Metaphor — Jobs always spoke about his products as people. The Macintosh introduced itself. The iPhone was "super smart." Personification makes the unfamiliar feel lovable, trustworthy, and safe. OpenAI gave us nothing — no avatar, no name worth remembering, no human face. They left a blank space, and people filled it with their own fears.
Analogy — Jobs called the Mac "a bicycle for the mind." He compared Apple launches to The Beatles at Shea Stadium. His analogies were warm, playful, optimistic. Sam Altman compared ChatGPT to the atomic bomb. Elon Musk said they were summoning demons. Simon's verdict: they missed a trick of historic proportions.
Moral framing — Apple was never just selling computers. It was about creativity, freedom, fighting the Orwellian status quo. Jobs recruited the CEO of Pepsi with one line: "Do you want to sell sugary water for the rest of your life, or come with me and change the world?" OpenAI's moral framing? Warnings about civilisational risk. Not exactly a rallying cry.
The Live Demo: Meet Chatty Gupta
Simon ended with a set piece — transporting the Sofia audience to the Steve Jobs Theatre in California, complete with whoops and cheers — and delivered a mock product launch for ChatGPT as Jobs might have done it. It landed exactly as intended: funny, sharp, and oddly moving. The point was clear. The technology was always extraordinary. The communication around it simply was not.
Q&A Highlights
Is AI actually your best friend? Simon's answer was unequivocal — yes. He uses ChatGPT daily, describes it as his perfect creative partner, and now offers clients a full speech draft in a single day, something unthinkable before.
What about the people who are scared of it? Fear fills the space that good communication leaves empty. The solution is not better facts — it is better stories.
Should AI leaders have done things differently from the start? Absolutely. The good news: it is not too late. The OpenAI x Jony Ive collaboration Simon referenced at the close suggests someone is finally paying attention.
What can we take away for our own communication? Find your metaphor. Choose your analogy carefully. Always ask: what is the moral dimension of what I am saying?
Final Thoughts: The Words Are Yours
AI can write your first draft. It cannot find your voice, your argument, or your moment of genuine connection with a room. That is still entirely human — and if this keynote proved anything, it is that when a human gets the words exactly right, no algorithm comes close.
Join the Conversation
What metaphor would you use to describe AI — and do you think the industry can still fix its communication problem? Share your thoughts below.
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