To begin, I will be direct: To all my chief people officer and chief human resources officer colleagues, I suggest that—in the not-too-distant future—we will need to change our job titles from CPO/CHRO to something closer to chief people-AI officer. If not, we risk being sidelined in the most consequential transformation of our careers—and becoming irrelevant as strategic business partners. The best CPOs/CHROs need to be a combination of AI strategist, hybrid workforce planner, culture champion, reskilling advocate and employee counselor.
This is not only an HR transformation, but also a leadership transformation. CEOs, boards and executive teams should understand that how organizations adopt AI through their people strategy will determine whether AI becomes a growth accelerator—or a source of disengagement and distrust.
See also: Employees still fear AI. What CHROs are doing about it
As Shakespeare wrote, “The past is prologue.” Rewind to the Industrial Revolution. That period in history brought dramatic changes in what we now call human resource management. HR, before that seismic change, focused primarily on overseeing personnel administration, maintaining time logs, and handling labor regulations. Suddenly, HR professionals needed to consider the impact of automation on the workplace.
As efficiency gains and productivity improvements took hold, areas such as workforce safety and employee welfare became priorities. The Industrial Revolution marked the beginning of significant changes in the workforce and the evolution of modern-day human resource management. At the time, our colleagues did not have a playbook for addressing these challenges; a more humanistic approach took hold as they faced the fear and uncertainty of machine-based automation.
Fear of AI needs to be overcome
We are at that same juncture today. Employee engagement surveys show an increase in fear of AI among our workforce. A significant percentage of employees worry about the potential impact on their jobs. A Pew research study found that 52% of workers are worried about the implications of AI. Many believe their jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI. CPOs/CHROs who proactively address AI-related fears will win the race for talent. Organizations that pair AI adoption with workforce enablement outperform peers in both productivity and engagement, according to multiple global studies. These organizations will compete more effectively, have a more engaged workforce, and attract and retain the best talent.
So, where do you start? The answer is not a technology playbook—but a leadership one. This leadership moment also requires clear governance, ethical guardrails and accountability—areas where HR must be a partner, not a bystander.
We all know that AI will create dramatic productivity improvements, streamline business processes and improve efficiency in every function of your company. In property and casualty insurance, for example, we see that in customer service, underwriting and claims processing. At Westfield, we have integrated AI into our workflows without compromising the human connection that is core to our culture. For example, we’ve used AI to augment decision-making in core workflows while preserving human judgment at key moments—improving speed and consistency without removing accountability.
We have learned a great deal since embarking on the AI journey. I suggest five key steps for functional leaders seeking to turn AI reluctance into a competitive advantage.
- Make HR an AI test lab. This will give your team the confidence to play a leadership role in leading the transformation. The opportunity set is clear in our work. Model what it means to be a data-first, AI-forward organization. From screening candidates and onboarding talent to optimizing training programs, assessing needs and automating HR support, there are a range of opportunities to apply AI to our core work.
- Lead with transparency. Be clear with the enterprise roadmap for AI adoption. Share the strategy and explain what is known and what remains to be explored. Transparency breeds trust. In the absence of information, employees will fill in the blanks with fear. Communicate, communicate and communicate again.
- Treat reskilling as change management. McKinsey suggests that upskilling and reskilling for AI are part of a holistic change-management journey, and that approaching them as such leads to greater success. It goes way beyond an AI-literate workforce. There must be experimentation and ultimately adoption.
- Redefine inclusion: Humans + AI. Thinking about AI as a co-worker reframes adoption from job replacement to job redesign. It forces leaders to ask: What work should remain human, what work can be augmented and how do we prepare people to collaborate with intelligent systems rather than compete with them? This means cultural competence has a new definition. Understanding how to work with a diverse group of people now also means understanding how to work with a diverse set of AI bots and agentic models.
- Act now—progress beats perfection. The moment for action is now. This is the most important point. If you are not in the AI game now, you will be left behind. Perfection is not the objective. We are in test-and-learn mode. CHROs are pivotal to organizational success in AI. We reside at the intersection of talent, technology and transformation. We can lead this change in ways that maximize the power of all talents.
The origins of modern HR remind us that our function has always emerged in moments of disruption. From early industrialization to today’s AI revolution, the mandate remains the same: Balance efficiency with human dignity. I learned this history the same way many leaders now learn—by asking an AI tool. That, too, is the point. AI is already shaping how we learn, decide and lead. The question is whether HR will shape that transformation—or react to it.
While technology has evolved since the Industrial Revolution, in this age of AI, we need to address both the human need for wellbeing and the organization’s need for efficiency. Our very human workforce needs us as much now as it did back then. The future of work will not be defined by AI itself, but by the leaders who decide how human judgment and intelligent technology work together at scale.
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