Professor Nick Kemsley, Associate Faculty, Henley Centre for HR and Organisational Capability on why HR should lead and not follow on AI.
The rapid rise of AI is prompting organisations to rethink who they are, how they operate and what leadership will look like in the years ahead. For HR and L&D, this shift comes with a unique responsibility: to ensure that technological progress strengthens, rather than sidelines, the human experience at work. The opportunities are enormous but so too are the risks if people functions do not actively shape how AI is adopted.
The proliferation of AI in organisations has created a ‘put up or shut up’ moment for people functions. They are being called to shift from passive observers to active leaders in shaping the AI conversation. If HR and L&D do not step into this space, no one else will, and the consequences for employees, and potentially society, could be profound.
There are four key areas where HR and L&D can redefine their value in an AI-enabled world:
- Holding the conscience of the human-technology balance.
- Embedding AI-driven thinking into organisational design and learning solutions.
- Reinventing skills models and leadership for an AI-enabled world.
- Repositioning the value equation for HR by taking these actions.
The stakes are high. Data from a recent workforce conference shows HR as having a 47% exposure to advances in technology, particularly AI, making it a visible target for automation.
Any forward-thinking function would want to proactively align itself with this new reality.
Balancing human and technology needs
One of HR’s most critical roles will be to guide organisational debates about the purpose and use of AI. Without intervention, AI could become primarily a cost-cutting tool. This might radically reshape organisational structures, with routine work potentially being transferred to AI platforms. While this may boost performance, it raises urgent questions:
- How will careers develop when lower-level roles diminish?
- Who truly benefits from cost reductions – employees or shareholders?
These are not abstract concerns. They are social, practical, and ethical questions that people functions must lead. AI will provoke some of the toughest discussions that HRDs and CHROs have had with CEOs, CFOs, and CTOs. Avoiding these conversations is not an option; saying “someone should handle it” won’t suffice.
Rethinking organisational design and learning models
HR must challenge leadership to rethink organisational structures that maximise AI’s benefits. Strategic workforce planning (SWP) will be critical to anticipate which skills will be needed and which may become obsolete. Without this foresight, reskilling options may never arise, leaving only fewer desirable alternatives to meet technological demands.
Skills will be a key area for HR to demonstrate value. New capabilities are emerging in prompt engineering, data analytics, AI development, and post-validation. Organisations must plan workforce strategies to ensure these skills are available on demand rather than reacting belatedly.
The future is clear: we must not sleepwalk into an AI-driven world. HR and L&D must take the reins.
Equally, AI-driven learning solutions can revolutionise L&D strategies. Beyond traditional face-to-face training, AI enables personalised, just-in-time learning integrated into the workflow. It can scale effortlessly, even across languages, shifting L&D from content creation to content curation. This transformation prompts critical questions: How will learning portfolios evolve? What is the new value proposition for L&D in this AI-driven landscape?
Leadership for an AI-enabled future
Leadership is perhaps the most pressing area for transformation. AI accelerates the gap between outdated leadership models and today’s complex, networked operating environment. Traditional hierarchical, function-based leadership that is rooted in mid-20th-century operational management, is increasingly inadequate.
Future leaders will require higher-order skills: judgement in ambiguity, network orchestration, and facilitation of diverse skillsets within horizontally organised workflows. HR must critically assess current leadership frameworks for relevance and develop new approaches to skills, career paths, diversity, evaluation, and development.
Purpose and ethics will be central to leadership in an AI-enabled world. Leaders must balance profit, people, and planet. The real risk lies not in AI itself, but in how leaders choose to use it. HR must help shape leaders who prioritise ethical decision-making, ensuring sustainable performance goes beyond mere cost-cutting. Incentives and development programmes must reinforce this balance.
A moral imperative for HR and L&D
Ultimately, people functions are uniquely positioned to lead the organisational conversation around AI. They have the overview to weigh competing needs and ensure the dialogue remains human-centred. Doing nothing is not only a strategic misstep; it is a moral failing. Without HR and L&D leadership, organisations risk leaving a void, one that could have negative consequences for employees, organisational performance, and the function itself.
The future is clear: we must not sleepwalk into an AI-driven world. HR and L&D must take the reins, embedding ethical, skills-focused, and leadership-oriented strategies into organisational DNA. In doing so, they secure both relevance and responsibility, shaping an AI-enabled future that benefits people as much as performance.
