The case of Dr. P, chronicled in Oliver Sacks' "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat", provides a powerful metaphor. Dr. P, suffering from visual agnosia due to damage to his right hemisphere, could perceive details but not wholes - he saw features but could not recognise faces.

As Sacks observed, "He approached faces - even of close relatives - as if they were abstract puzzles or tests. He did not relate to them, he did not behold them."

This neurological case study offers a striking parallel to the limitations of current generative AI systems. Both represent what happens when analytical, feature-detecting processes (associated with left-brain functions) operate without the integrative, contextual understanding typically provided by right-brain capabilities.

This session explores this parallel crisis and its implications for leadership in an increasingly data-driven world.