McALLEN — The audience Friday at South Texas College’s summit on the impact of artificial intelligence on workforce and economic development didn’t clap when panelists spoke about how much of their industry would require AI retraining.

The crowd didn’t clap when panelists talked about the sorts of things that AI is good at, and they didn’t applaud when they mentioned the reasons AI utilization is critical.

Instead, the crowd clapped when panelist Adam Copher told them what AI couldn’t do.

“We have to be careful — and I’ve heard a couple of our speakers already say it — AI will never replace human connection. Ever,” said Copher, chief nursing officer at South Texas Health System in McAllen. “And that is one of the things as a CNO that I love, is the meaningful connection with everybody I meet.”