When Life Imitates Art

Popular culture has long used our relationships with machines to grapple with such themes as how one defines life, self-awareness, and, ultimately, what makes up a soul. Perhaps the best reference point for these kinds of philosophical questions comes from Philip K. Dick, whose seminal science fiction work Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? serves largely as the basis for the cult-classic film Blade Runner. Published in 1968, Dick's book offers a simple thesis: the difference between humans and androids is the ability to express love and compassion. Put another way, our differences come down to an ability to genuinely express empathy. The application of empathy is a fundamental driver of customer experience (CX) strategy.