Power to the Poets
Because the future needs both Builders and Poets.
In a world rushing to automate faster, we risk forgetting the most important thing:
Technology doesn’t just build systems. It builds experiences. And experiences build trust — or they destroy it.
At Power to the Poets, we believe that every conversation — human or AI-powered — is a chance to move someone forward. Not just faster. Not just cheaper. But forward: toward clarity, confidence, progress, and trust.
About Hans van Dam
I'm Hans van Dam —
Founder of the Conversation Design Institute and the CDI Foundation,
and an Industry Research Fellow at RMIT University.
Over the past decade, I've helped the world’s leading brands design AI Assistants that don’t just automate tasks — they build loyalty, trust, and emotional resonance at scale.
Through CDI and the Foundation, we've trained thousands of professionals, shaped international standards, and advanced the human side of artificial intelligence.
Now, through Power to the Poets, I want to go deeper.
This publication isn’t just about conversational AI or customer experience.
It’s about something bigger:
How we build trust, loyalty, and meaning in an increasingly automated world.
Builders and Poets
We need both.
Builders create the infrastructure — the models, the platforms, the algorithms.
Poets give it soul — they shape the experience, the emotion, the meaning.
One without the other leads to failure.
A future built by Builders alone becomes efficient, but empty. A future shaped by Builders and Poets becomes habitable, human, and alive.
Power to the Poets is for those who understand this difference —
and who want to create technology that feels less like a machine and more like a conversation.
Who This Is For
This publication is for:
Customer Experience Leaders who know trust is their real product.
AI and Conversation Designers who believe conversations are about people, not users.
Brand Builders and Strategists who want to shape experiences that last.
Technologists and Founders who care about building products people love — not just use.
If you believe that great experiences aren't accidents — they're designed with care, insight, and humanity — then you’re in the right place.
What You’ll Get
Every week, you’ll receive:
Deep Dives into how to design customer experiences that create trust, movement, and emotional loyalty.
Frameworks that bridge philosophy and practice — real tools for real work.
Stories that reconnect technology to the human journey.
Challenges to rethink how you build, lead, and create.
No clickbait.
No empty noise.
Just thoughtful, serious writing for people who want to build better futures.
Power to the Poets.
Because the future depends on the conversations we create today.
