She is explaining herself carefully, choosing each word, while he stares at the table, already overwhelmed. In moments like this, misunderstanding isn’t loud—it’s quiet, cumulative, and exhausting. As AI systems begin to read tone, emotion, and intent in real time, these moments may become rarer. But if understanding arrives before we speak, what disappears with it? In a future of instant emotional clarity, the real question may not be whether we argue less—but whether we sti