How to keep your judgment, your values and your joy in the work while AI does more of it.
Keynote · 45 to 60 minutes · Dutch, English or German · on stage or online
What is this keynote about?
The Copilot Never Lands the Plane is a keynote by Hans de Graaf about the one skill that decides whether AI makes your work better or only faster: knowing when to trust the tool, when to trust yourself, and who is in command. It uses peer-reviewed research and the language of the cockpit to give the audience one habit they can use the next morning.
Aviation learned decades ago that accidents happen when the copilot sees the problem and says nothing. Today the copilot is an AI that never hesitates, and the person not speaking up is the pilot. That is you.
Who is it for?
Entrepreneurs and their associations. "I do more than ever with AI, I am more tired and not less, and I cannot tell if the output is good."
People who work behind a screen. Surrounded by polished text, unsure whether AI makes them better or only faster.
HR and leadership. Asked to roll out AI and protect their people at the same time, with a number from a LinkedIn post as evidence.
It works for mixed audiences with no technical background. No one needs to have used AI before, and the experienced users get the most uncomfortable slide.
What does the audience take home?
The HOLD cross-check on a card: Hands off, Own view, Look at the copilot, Decide. In 5 seconds, 30 seconds or 5 minutes.
Three questions that replace "do I trust AI?": is it able, what is its motive, is it stable?
One sentence borrowed from the cockpit and practiced out loud: "I'm not comfortable with this."
A realistic picture of what research shows about AI, judgment and wellbeing, and which popular numbers do not survive a check.
One written commitment for the next working day.
How the hour is built
The silent copilot. A cockpit story about deference, and the turn to today.
The number check. Where the viral statistics about AI and burnout come from, and what is left when you trace them.
The pilot. The audience rates its own AI skill. Then the research on overconfidence. The I5 Brain Model in three minutes.
The copilot. Why AI agrees with you, and why you like it. Able, motive, stable, tried on a tool you used this week.
The decision. Where human plus AI loses, where it wins, and who signs.
The flight plan. Values, purpose and meaning: what you should not hand over, even if AI does it well.
The close. The cross-check card and one commitment.
Three moments of interaction, none of them embarrassing. Lecture-style: people learn something and laugh now and then, usually at me.
Which research is behind it?
Six peer-reviewed sources carry the keynote. The reference is printed on every research slide.
Fernandes et al. (2026), Computers in Human Behavior: people perform better with AI and judge their own performance worse.
Cheng et al. (2026), Science: AI models affirm users 49% more than humans do, and one conversation shifts judgment (N = 2,405).
Lee et al. (2025), CHI: among 319 knowledge workers, more confidence in the AI went with less critical thinking, and more self-confidence with more. Self-reported.
Vaccaro, Almaatouq & Malone (2024), Nature Human Behaviour: meta-analysis of 106 experiments on human-AI combinations.
Goddard, Roudsari & Wyatt (2012), JAMIA: systematic review of automation bias, long before generative AI.
Allan et al. (2019), Journal of Management Studies: meta-analysis of 44 studies (N = 23,144) linking meaningful work to engagement and commitment.
Surveys by consultancies and vendors are mentioned as what they are, with the sender named, and never as a chart.
What this keynote is not
Not a ChatGPT demo and not a prompting class.
Not a pep talk about the wonderful future, and not a warning about the end of work.
Not neuroscience. I am not a neuroscientist; I cite the people who are.
Not a promise that a keynote prevents burnout. No study shows that, so I do not claim it.
Languages
Dutch, English, German
Format
On stage or online. The interactions work in both.
Tailoring
One intake call. Examples and the opening story are chosen for your sector.
Technical
Projector or LED wall (16:9), headset or lavalier microphone, clicker. For the poll: the audience uses their own phones.
Follow-up
Can be combined with the Cockpit workshop the same day, or extended to a full Airline Day.
Check a date
Send me the date, the place, the audience and the occasion.
Booking through a speaker bureau? I am listed with the AI Speakers Bureau (AISB Knowledge Networks).