AI and HR: Who's Driving the Transformation?

On a rainy night in New York City, a group of chief people officers and senior leaders gathered to debate a pressing question: Is AI working for us, or have we started working for AI? Maxine Carrington from Northwell Health kicked off the discussion, highlighting the relentless shift HR execs face in the age of AI.

Rethinking Roles and Responsibilities

The question of whether AI is driving total transformation or merely integrating tools into existing structures was central. Agnes Garaba from UiPath shared her efforts to envision a future HR setup from scratch. But here's the catch: imagination seems to be the biggest barrier. If you could blow up your HR team and start over, what would it look like? That's a tough nut to crack.

Gareth Lewis, from Lewis People & Culture Advisory, expressed concern that the current focus seems to be on tools and efficiency rather than on redefining roles. In production, this looks different. It's an organizational challenge, not just a technological one.

Culture: The Real Driver of Transformation

Katie Burke of Harvey emphasized that transformation can't just be driven with a stick. You need a carrot too. Are companies merely dipping their toes in AI experimentation, or are they truly transforming? True change requires senior leaders to get their hands dirty, not just talk about it. Attending hackathons and building agents themselves can be a breakthrough.

Improving employee participation through company-wide hackathons can also foster innovation. Maggie Hulce from Indeed shared that their sales teams, often not seen as tech drivers, are leading the way in creating new AI tools. Who would've thought a salesperson could wear five functional hats?

The Role of HR in AI Adoption

Dickie Steele from McKinsey & Company brought up a critical point: HR should be a lighthouse in deploying AI. It's about pushing businesses toward substantial productivity improvements. But Liz Dente from Priceline cautioned against believing in dramatic AI-driven gains. Incremental progress might be more realistic than a thousand-times return. The demo is impressive. The deployment story is messier.

So, are companies selling themselves on AI's hype? Or are they carefully balancing expectations with real-world capabilities? The real test is always the edge cases.