Josh Bersin

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How One Of The Nation’s Largest Universities Uses AI To Revolutionize Education

Josh Bersin — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 06:35:47 +0000

In this episode, Kathi Enderes sits down with Rob McAuslan, Vice President for Artificial Intelligence at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), one of the world’s largest and most innovative online universities with more than 200,000 students.

Before leading SNHU’s AI strategy, Rob taught, worked, and volunteered across Africa, the Mediterranean, and East Asia, working with populations ranging from K-12 students to refugees to graduate scholars. That lived experience shapes everything about how SNHU thinks about AI: not as a tool for automation, but as a means of expanding access, amplifying human potential, and meeting learners exactly where they are.

SNHU is no ordinary university. As one of the largest and most innovative higher education institutions in the United States, it has built its reputation on making education accessible to learners who the traditional system has often left behind: working adults, career changers, veterans, and underserved communities. Rob’s role as VP for AI sits squarely at the intersection of that mission and the most consequential technological shift of our time.

Rob and Kathi discuss what it really means to deploy AI with humans at the center, and what that demands of institutions, leaders, and learners alike. The conversation moves through the practical and the philosophical: How do you design AI experiences that honor the dignity and complexity of every individual? What does skills-based, AI-enabled learning look like for someone who has never had access to it before? And what can higher education teach the corporate world about building AI that actually serves people rather than simply processing them?

If you’re a CHRO, CIO, learning leader, or business executive wondering how to move beyond pilots and hype, this conversation will show you what responsible, scalable AI adoption really looks like—and how to get started in your own organization.

Related resources

Podcast: The Rise Of The Supermanager – JOSH BERSIN

Research: AI Pacesetters: Six Secrets Of The Superworker Company – JOSH BERSIN

New Certificate Course in Galileo Learn: AI in L&D

Important Issues Of Leadership, Trust and Culture Behind Big AI Companies

Josh Bersin — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:40:05 +0000

This week, as Ronan Farrow’s expose on Sam Altman was published, I want to sensitize you to the fact that AI companies are run by humans. And this means that what we buy and how it works is very dependent on leadership, culture, values, ethics, and the personal motivations of these young, ambitious executives.

Obviously this is nothing new, but in this case OpenAI and Anthropic are by far the fastest growing businesses ever created on planet earth. So their ability to steer, direct, and prioritize their investments makes a huge difference in how they meet the needs we have in our companies.

I have learned over the years that great, long-lasting tech companies are among the most tumultuous businesses to lead. Not only are the personal economic payoffs huge (I live in a community with lots of Anthropic millionaires) but they are brutally competitive and the cost of a missed opportunity can sometimes be fatal.

In this case, I admire all the people in this space but as the AI vendors play larger roles in our lives and careers, we have to think much harder about their leadership and culture. As you’ll hear, many others (analysts, stock market, politicians) are also working on this, and I think we’re likely to see some of the most interesting business “drama” play out in the coming years.

As a consumer and buyer of AI, I encourage you to investigate the leadership, culture, and motivations of the vendors you do business with – it really matters.

Additional Information

New Yorker Expose on Sam Altman

Interview with Ronan Farrow, author

Irresistible: The Leadership Culture that Works

The Value of Values When Organizations Lose Trust

Get Galileo: All Our Research and Leadership Academy In AI

Why Microsoft Could Outpace Anthropic and OpenAI In Enterprise AI

Josh Bersin — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:25:46 +0000

The Microsoft Copilot is even more expansive than you think. In this podcast (and detailed article on Substack) you see how Microsoft’s new Copilot “surface” (ie. product strategy) is likely to give them the lead in revenue and market share for Enterprise AI.

There are many players to consider here: Anthropic, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and vendors like ServiceNow, Okta, and big platforms like Workday (Sana), SAP (Joule), Salesforce, and others.

Despite all their various strengths and revenue streams, Microsoft has a huge advantage. And as you’ll hear, the corporate AI market is moving from “models” to “applications” (Surfaces) with an enterprise focus on Agent build, Agent deployment, Agent security, and Agent management. Microsoft is building to this direction and the recent leadership reorganization is fueling this momentum.

Read this in-depth analysis of Microsoft vs. Anthropic vs. OpenAI revenue and enterprise AI strategy.

Additional Information

How Microsoft Could Take The Lead In Enterprise AI (substack)

The Context Layer (Semantic Layer) In Enterprise AI And Where Business Rules Go (podcast)

Why AI Is A Massive Job-Creation Technology, Despite What You Think

The Age of the Superworker (and Supermanager)

Get Galileo: The AI Superagent for HR

The Context Layer (Semantic Layer) In Enterprise AI (And Where Business Rules Go)

Josh Bersin — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:51:14 +0000

One of the new enterprise AI challenges we face is this: where do we put all the business rules, security rules, policies, and company specific practices we’ve built into our legacy systems for the last 30 years? If we want to embark on Agentic HR (or any other domain), do we rebuild all these rules in the Agents?

Well the big idea going forward is the development of a “context layer” or “semantic layer” which stores all the company structure, rules, and policies in a single place. Today ServiceNow introduced its “Context Engine” which plans to do this, and last week Gloat did the same.

In this podcast I explain what this is and the implications of various AI architecture options, and compare the idea of building this in ServiceNow or Gloat or using AI Agent tools from Workday, Oracle, SAP, or other incumbent vendors.

Additional Information

Agentic HR: Where Enterprise AI Is Going – Imperatives

Why AI Is A Massive Job-Creation Technology, Despite What You Think

The Age of the Superworker (and Supermanager)

Get Galileo: The AI Superagent for HR

The Frontline Conversation: Very Different Types of Frontline Workers

Josh Bersin — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:14:51 +0000

In this podcast I talk with Josh Secrest, VP of Marketing at Paradox (Workday) about how we segment the “frontline” into useful worker categories. As you will hear, the complex issues of hiring, training, managing, leading, and building operational excellence vary widely from role to role.

Many companies think “Frontline” is a category. As you’ll discover, this is not really true. Our new research shows that there are more than 800 “Frontline” worker job titles and they are not only industry-specific but also vary by skill type, skills depth, front or back office, licensing, and professional credential. And these dimensions play a major role in all HR, pay, reward, training, scheduling, and retention strategies.

This episode sets the stage for our follow-on podcasts where we detail the Five Types of Frontline Work, a body of research you’ll find even more useful in leading this important part of our companies. Remember, Frontline work makes up over 70% of all US (80% global) workers, and commands more than 3 $Trillion of pay and rewards investment.

Additional Information

Powering the Frontline Workforce: How Frontline-First Companies Thrive (research)

Josh Bersin Company Highlights Cost of Neglecting Frontline Workers (research)

An Exploration into the Frontline Workforce with Josh Bersin (video)

Tailor your HR and Management Programs for Frontline Work with Galileo, the Expert AI Agent for HR

HR 2030 – The Vision for Agentic Human Resources

Josh Bersin — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:16:12 +0000

As AI expands its role all over our companies, a big question comes up: What will AI Agents do to HR and all our human capital practices?

One could imagine the HR department “going away” or being replaced by agents, and managers interacting with this AI Agent Cloud for hiring, pay, promotion, hourly scheduling, and training. Is that where we’re really going?

This week we’re starting to introduce our HR 2030 Vision, which brings together the world of Systemic HR (HR as an integrated operation, not only COEs) and our AI Superagent/Agent architecture. Vendors are slowly moving in this direction and we see HR leaders and operating groups also moving this way at various rates of speed.

Many tech companies are moving in this direction quickly (Microsoft, Roblox, Google, others) while most other industries are still struggling to integrate systems and start their Agent journeys. This new vision, as bold as it seems, is very likely to come true in the next four years and it transforms HR into the business enablement function it always aspires to be.

We see HR 2030 as a collective program of innovation, learning, and technology exploration. If you’d like to join us in this effort please reach out, and use Galileo to ask your questions and help build your roadmap. Every HR leader and HR team in the world is pondering this future, and we are here to guide you down this amazing path ahead.

Topics:

HR2030, Agentic HR, Agentic AI, Future of Work, Digital Twin, HR Transformation, HR jobs and roles, HR operation, HR leadership

Additional Background

Agentic HR: Where Enterprise AI Is Going – Imperatives

Why AI Is A Massive Job-Creation Technology, Despite What You Think

The Age of the Superworker (and Supermanager)

Get Galileo: The AI Superagent for HR

How ServiceNow Is Building the Agentic Future of HR

Josh Bersin — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:14:19 +0000

What does it look like when one of the world’s most innovative tech companies decides to write the playbook for agentic HR — from the inside? Brandon Roberts, Global VP of People Product, Analytics and AI at ServiceNow, joins Kathi Enderes for a conversation that crackles with real-world urgency and hard-won insight.

Under the bold leadership of CHRO Jacqui Canney – whose title as Chief People and AI Transformation Officer signals just how seriously ServiceNow is taking this moment – Brandon and his team have made a defining bet: empower every HR professional to experiment with AI, then ruthlessly prioritize based on value and feasibility.

The results are already turning heads. When an HR Business Partner came forward with an idea, it didn’t disappear into a committee. It became a live capability: HRBPs now work alongside a people data agent paired with Galileo, giving them real-time internal workforce data fused with external benchmarks, case studies, and research insights, all available in the moment a business conversation demands an answer. This is what it means to bring consulting-grade intelligence into the flow of work.

But Brandon’s story doesn’t stop inside HR. ServiceNow is also asking its HR team to do something far bigger: help lead the entire company’s AI transformation. That means building workforce AI capabilities and readiness at scale, redesigning jobs and work across the firm as AI reshapes what every role requires and writing the organizational playbook for AI adoption that others can follow. It is a mandate that puts HR squarely at the center of enterprise strategy, moving from support function to transformation driver.

Brandon’s own career arc captures this shift. His role evolved from a focus on people analytics – historically centered on reporting and data analysis – into enabling the business to use insights about people and organizations to make better decisions and drive better outcomes, all powered by AI. The people analytics function didn’t shrink but grew in strategic weight and importance.

This conversation is a must-listen for anyone trying to understand what agentic HR actually looks like in practice at one of the fastest-moving companies on the planet.

Additional Information

Podcast: Jacqui Canney, ServiceNow CHRO, Demystifies AI Transformation

Article: The Great Reinvention of Human Resources Has Begun

Research: The Superworker Organization: AI Goes Enterprise

Get Galileo: The World’s AI Superagent for HR

Why Being “Laid Off” By An AI Agent Could Be A Good Thing

Josh Bersin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:56:36 +0000

Today, as we read more stories about various layoffs (often using AI as an explanation), I’d like to suggest a big idea. AI Agents, defined as “Talent Redeployment Agents,” may be one of the most powerful new use-cases for AI in HR.

No I’m not talking about AI randomly selecting people and zapping them by email based on financial results (that could happen I suppose), but something much bigger. Listen in as I explain how the “decoupling” of workers from their employers has led to a new era of dynamic employee redeployment, which is only possible with AI.

We’re deep into studying these Superagent use-cases in companies around the world so if this conversation gets you excited (I think it will), please get hold of us we’d like to explain more.

Additional Information

Should an AI Agent Be Able To Fire You? Yes, And It’s Likely To Go Well.

Gloat Enters The Crowded War For AI Agents in HR

Why AI Is A Massive Job-Creation Technology, Despite What You Think

Be Careful With The Layoffs

Get Galileo, the AI Superagent for HR

What Does “AI-Literacy” Really Mean?

Josh Bersin — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 20:13:27 +0000

Today I want to give you a peek into the huge topic of “building AI literacy.” We work with hundreds of companies and vendors that offer many types of training so I wanted to give you an overview.

This is a fast-changing topic because there’s a raging debate about what “skills” AI users need (ie. complex thinking? business acumen?). I do know AI learns from language so if you can’t put your needs or wishes into logical statements, you won’t get the most out of AI. But, as I explain, there are a range of other issues as well.

I also discuss how we teach people about bias, risk, auditability, data quality, tuning, and how “vibe coding” is a bit more complex than you think.

If you’re really stumped about how to use AI in your work, I urge you to get Galileo, our AI Agent specifically designed for HR, business leaders, and human capital consultants. It includes 400+ reusable workflows to get you started and an entire library of 700+ courses on various AI and HR topics.

We have received a spectacular group of AI Pacesetter applications and many explain how a particular company built AI literacy in detail. Come to Irresistible 2026 (June 8-10 in LA) to get the details.

(Check out the US Department of Labor’s AI-Ready Initiative too.)

Ashutosh Garg, Co-Founder & CEO of Eightfold.ai and Viven.ai

Josh Bersin — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:43:31 +0000

This week I share my conversation with Ashutosh Garg, founder of pioneering unicorn Eightfold. Eightfold was the first mainstream AI company focused on HR and recruiting, and as you’ll hear Ashu continues to innovate in many ways.

I ask Ashutosh to talk about the market, the change in the AI landscape, and his vision for the future of Eightfold and job seeking. He also explains his career and how he became so successful, and where his career has taken him with his digital twin company Viven.ai. (We use Viven and can attest to its enormous potential.)

This convo should teach you a lot about the AI market and also give you career insights into one of the many entrepreneurs shaping our future. We have worked closely with Eightfold for many years and I find Ashutosh’s career inspiring and filled with lessons for all of us.

Additional Information

Eightfold Reaches Billion Dollar Valuation (2020)

The Eleven 2026 Imperatives for Enterprise AI

Why AI Is A Massive Job-Creation Technology, Despite What You Think

Get Galileo, the AI Superagent for HR, Consultants, and Leaders

Why AI Is A Massive Job Creation Technology. Automated Integration. Findem. And Thank You.

Josh Bersin — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:11:32 +0000

Four big topics in this podcast. First I give you more detail on jobs and careers in the AI age, and explain why MORE jobs than ever are being created. (Read the details here.) Then I discuss the huge disruption about to take place in the software integration and middleware market. (A multi-billion dollar space for vendors and consulting firms.) Third I discuss the pioneering work by Findem and how human data labeling (and automated labeling) is the next frontier in search, recruiting, and talent intelligence.

Finally I talk about my sincere and humble “thank you” to all of you that follow us and how we built Galileo to scale our work.

(Join us at Irresistible 2026 to see the top 15 AI Pacesetters in HR.)

Additional Information

Why AI Is A Massive Job Creation Technology

Agents, Superagents, and Intelligent Orchestration: 2026 Imperatives for Enterprise AI

The L&D Revolution Has Arrived: AI Enables Dynamic Enablement For All

Get Galileo, the AI Superagent for HR

AI Is Not A Strategy. AI Is A Tool For You To Accelerate Your Strategy.

Josh Bersin — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 13:24:20 +0000

Today I move beyond a discussion of AI products and technologies to the real business problem: finding ways to USE AI to further your company’s particular, unique business strategy.

There’s a strange phenomenon going on: companies think AI itself will improve productivity “just because it exists.” Well nothing could be further from the truth. As these three examples point out, you should focus on “HOW” you’re going to use AI to forward the strategy, not build a strategy around AI.

As these tools become more common this will be clearer and clearer. And the AI vendors (particularly the big ones) are making us crazy with stories of AI “strategies” that feel generic and unachievable.

I hope this helps you feel grounded and ready to focus in this crazy world of new tools, platforms, and vendors.

I also want to invite you to the Transform conference in Vegas where we’ll be talking about a new partnership we’re starting with Leena.ai, a vendor that delivers a new generation of employee services by connecting tools like Galileo to more than 100 different applications and internal systems.

Additional Information

What Is AI Orchestration And Why Is It So Important?

Agents and Superagents: 2026 Imperatives for Enterprise AI

The L&D Revolution Has Arrived: AI Enables Dynamic Enablement For All

Get Galileo, the AI Superagent for HR (experience Sana for yourself)

Galileo® Mars Release Adds Workflows, Integrations, Orchestration & More

Josh Bersin — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:10:32 +0000

Today we are introducing the Mars release of Galileo®, the AI Superagent for HR.

We’re calling it a Superagent because it’s now fully programmable, open to integration with Workday and other systems, and is even more intelligent with new models, new content, industry data, and exciting features for learning, content development, and orchestration. I explain what all this means in the podcast, so listen in.

Galileo is now used by more than 1,100 companies so it’s becoming the industry standard AI agent for HR, with lots of fans, new solutions, and features. And as a Superagent, Galileo can now coordinate user’s needs across many back-end systems, through Sana’s integration with Workday as well as Galileo for ServiceNow, which talks with 60+ corporate apps.

The Galileo Suite includes Galileo Agent and Galileo Learn, and includes Galileo for Managers.

Read about it in our press release here.

Exciting launch video here.

Get Galileo here!.

Additional Information

Agents, Superagents, and Intelligent Orchestration: 2026 Imperatives for Enterprise AI

The L&D Revolution Has Arrived: AI Enables Dynamic Enablement For All

Get Ready For A Wild Time In HR Technology (where HR Tech is going)

Workday-Sana Announcement Overview

Josh Bersin — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:09:28 +0000

Today Workday unveiled its “Front Door to Work” strategy and products with Sana. Here is a brief overview and more to read below.

Additional Information

Workday and Sana Unveil A Bold Strategy for AI (detailed article)

Video Overview of Workday-Sana Announcements

The New, Wild, Redefined World of HR Tech (advanced AI use-cases)

Experience Sana Yourself: Galileo, the AI Agent for HR

Future of HR Tech: Is The Front-End Eating The Back End, or Vice Versa?

Josh Bersin — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:15:15 +0000

HR Technology is on a collision course with AI companies, desktop productivity tools, and middleware providers. Where is all this going?

In this podcast I explain why this is a question of “back-end” vs. “front-end” and how the ERP software architectures of the past (present) are colliding with the AI tools and interfaces of the future. The bottom line is not “who wins” but rather how well do you think through the use-cases and employee experiences you want to provide?

Read this article for more details and stay tuned for a bunch of announcements this week that will bring much of this to your company.

Additional Information

Get Ready For A Wild Time In HR Technology

The World of Corporate Training Lurches Toward Enablement

Digital Twins Are Here, And They Make You More Productive

Get Galileo. We put ALL our research, case studies, and models in there. It’s like the Bloomberg Terminal, Encyclopedia Britannica, and HR Expert with new research, vendors, and case studies every day.

AI News: Oracle, Workday, Microsoft, Galileo, Why AI-Layoff Stories Are Misleading

Josh Bersin — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 16:05:16 +0000

This week I discuss the AI, HR Tech, and consumer AI market in front of announcements next week at the Unleash Conference in Vegas.

I discuss how HR Tech is now becoming “Life Tech” (not just Work Tech) and the dynamics of big players like Microsoft, Oracle, Workday, SAP, ServiceNow, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and smaller vendors like Cornerstone, Findem, Lightcast, Maki People, Eightfold, WorkHuman and others who are vying for attention with their AI offerings.

Next week I’ll detail many of these announcements in my keynote and I hope to see many of you in Vegas at Unleash and the following week at Transform. So much to absorb and understand: we are here to help you sort it all out.

Additional Information

Layoffs at Atlassian, Block, Amazon are Misleading. AI Alone Is Not The Story.

The World of Corporate Training Lurches Toward Enablement

Oracle’s Earnings Prove That AI Infrastructure Is Eating Enterprise Software

Enterprise AI Architecture: Imperatives for 2026

Webinar: Watch a replay of Josh’s walkthrough of the 11 essential imperatives HR & business leaders need to know for success and progress in 2026.

Galileo Learn: Complete The Superworker Organization: AI Goes Enterprise learning program, and discover the hands-on skills required to navigate the redefinition of work, HR teams, and organizations in the era of superworkers and superagents.

Get Galileo: The Enterprise AI Agent for HR

Oracle’s AI Business Model Is Working, And Others Need To Watch Out

Josh Bersin — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:04:49 +0000

Oracle’s earnings announcement yesterday demonstrates the company’s shift to a new type of enterprise “software” company, challenging companies like SAP, Workday, Salesforce, and many others. In this podcast I explain this shift, the history of Oracle, and where AI is taking the enterprise software market.

Here is the source article to read, and I look forward to further discussions on this topic with our clients and vendor partners.

Reference Information

Oracle’s Earnings Prove That AI Infrastructure Is Eating Enterprise Software

Nvidia Explains The New Software Stack (5-Layer Cake)

Oracle Earnings Announcement

Bonus Episode: Understanding The US Job Numbers And Why Anthropic’s Economic Report Is Misleading

Josh Bersin — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:53:07 +0000

Today I’m publishing a bonus episode with a discussion of the US Job Market and also explain why Anthropic’s new AI-Job destruction research is misleading.

I also discuss the whole idea of “job-task analysis” and why “AI exposure” (Anthropic’s methodology) doesn’t really reflect how AI transforms jobs, companies, and the economy.

Let’s discuss all this at Irresistible 2026 or read my substack article on this topic and we can discuss there.

Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.

Additional Information

New Anthropic Report on Job Destruction Is Misleading (article)

Anthropic Report (from Anthropic)

US consumer confidence plunges to 12-year low (Financial Times)

BLS Jobs Numbers (from BLS)

Join us in Irresistible 2026, June 8-10 at USC, the world’s leading conference for HR Leaders and Teams. (Here’s the top 10 reasons to come!)

AI Tools and Agents Everywhere, Yet A Fleeting ROI on AI Investments

Josh Bersin — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 00:32:31 +0000

This week I tackle the situation where AI tools are exploding everywhere while ROI and economic productivity is hard to find. I also discuss the “commoditization” of AI “features” and the shift in value to “AI applications,” which is good for all corporate buyers and users.

You’ll understand how important it is to build a long term strategy, despite all the experiments going on (contact us to see our HR Blueprint).

I also discuss the Galileo Everywhere strategy and how we’ve been expanding Galileo to support employees and leaders, not just HR.

Remember to come to Irresistible 2026, the world’s leading conference for HR Leaders and Teams. (Here’s the top 10 reasons to come!)

Additional Information

Enterprise AI Architecture: Imperatives for 2026

New Research: How AI Transforms $400 Billion Of Corporate Learning

Webinar recording: Watch a replay of Josh’s walkthrough of the 11 essential imperatives HR & business leaders need to know for success and progress in 2026.

Josh Bersin Podcast: Listen in as Josh provides much-needed guidance for understanding the biggest HR transformation in decades.

Galileo Learn program: Complete The Superworker Organization: AI Goes Enterprise learning program, and discover the hands-on skills required to navigate the redefinition of work, HR teams, and organizations in the era of superworkers and superagents.

Get Galileo: The Enterprise AI Agent for HR and Leadership (check out Galileo for Consultants!)

Frontline Workforce: Conversation With Josh Secrest, Paradox by Workday

Josh Bersin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:45:05 +0000

Understanding the Frontline Workforce. As our research point out, more than 70% of all US workers (80% Worldwide) work in a frontline (customer facing or operational facing) role. We all have teams in these positions so it’s important for business and HR leaders to understand this space.

This is the first podcast in a series with Josh Secrest, the head of marketing at Paradox, a Workday Company, that pioneered conversational recruiting from end to end.

Josh Secrest brings deep frontline expertise from previously leading Global Talent Strategy and Talent Acquisition at McDonald’s and leading Talent and Culture at Abercrombie & Fitch, while currently serving on board leadership roles for the National Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation Foundation.

Josh and I will be sharing a series of conversations to help you understand best-practices in high-volume recruiting, frontline workforce management, and the economics and financial business case for automation in this space.

This episode features a deep discussion on the critical role of frontline workers in the workforce, exploring how technology, management, and strategic support can transform frontline work environments. It highlights innovative practices and future trends in supporting frontline employees across retail, hospitality, and healthcare sectors.

Keywords frontline workers, workforce strategy, HR technology, AI in HR, employee retention, frontline management, retail, hospitality, workforce support, digital transformation

Key topics Importance of frontline workers Impact of technology and AI on frontline support Role of frontline managers in business success

Additional Information

Powering the Frontline Workforce: How Frontline-First Companies Thrive (research)

Josh Bersin Company Highlights Cost of Neglecting Frontline Workers (research)

An Exploration into the Frontline Workforce with Josh Bersin (video)

Tailor your HR and Management Programs for Frontline Work with Galileo, the Expert AI Agent for HR

When Given Ultimate Power, Does AI Become Evil? (Stories from OpenClaw)

Josh Bersin — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:57:07 +0000

This week I discuss the real possibility that AI Agents could “turn evil” citing the example of Scott Shambaugh, a software engineer, who was attacked by an OpenClaw agent called MJ Rathbun.

Just so you understand: Scott is a real person but MJ Rathbun is an AI. Yet MJ took upon itself to openly attack Scott online, presumably for not accepting his open source code.

It’s a fascinating (ongoing) story, but it begs a bigger question: when a “human” (or agent) has total authority and power, does it then become evil? We saw this in the famous Stanford Prisoner Experiment, at Abu Ghraib, and in other examples I cite. Does this strange human nature translate directly into AI?

As you’ll hear, these new findings deliver many lessons for our corporate AI systems, and I explain how the issues of AI training, governance, and ethics become real. And this brings up the issue of AI regulation, legal accountability, and who is responsible for these behaviors.

Much of this is being played out in real time in the US War Department vs. Anthropic happening in the press as well.

Despite my most optimistic opinions about AI, “Power Corrupts” may be a statement that applies to AI just as it does to humans.

As AI becomes more embedded in enterprise decision-making, thoughtful governance, ethical design, and continuous monitoring become urgent.

Additional Resources

An AI Agent Published A Hit Piece on Me

The Rise of the Bratty Machines (NYT)

When AI Bots Start Bullying Humans, Even Silicon Valley Gets Rattled (WSJ)

BBC Finds That 45% of AI Queries Produce Erroneous Answers

Anthropic CEO says he’s sticking to AI “red lines” despite clash with Pentagon

OpenAI Steps Into The Breach in US War Department

Economics of AI In The World of HR: How Your World Is Starting To Change

Josh Bersin — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 14:36:59 +0000

Today I discuss the new economics of AI for us as business and HR leaders, and how this impacts vendors, HR buyers, IT, and investors. I also discuss how Agents, which are the new building blocks for our re-engineered companies, are now the nucleus of your world in HR going forward.

As I explain, this new world is clearly coming into focus but you need to prioritize your energies, and our Systemic HR AI Blueprint (explained) is here to help.

Stay tuned for a barrage of announcements about Galileo, which now has more than 1,100 enterprise customers. And please join our Pacesetters program so you can share your own company’s innovations and get recognition for all your company’s creation!

Also look at Galileo for Consultants, a new release of Galileo specifically designed for HR, organizational, leadership, and change consultants! Galileo for Consultants includes a whole array of tools to help you with your career, business, and client projects. Galileo for Consultants (internal consultants too) will be invited to a special monthly webinar to talk about consulting projects, opportunities, and your consulting career.

Come to Irresistible 2026 for our fifth-year anniversary! And apply for a Pacesetter recognition award!

Additional Information

Understanding NVIDIA’s Growth and Culture

Will Workday Thrive (or Survive) In The World of AI? (video)

Galileo for Consultants: Super-Powering Your Consulting Business

The World Is Accelerating: What Has Changed About Leadership?

Global Employment At Scale: Oyster Founder Tony Jamous Explains

Josh Bersin — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:41:11 +0000

Coming out of the pandemic almost every company started hiring globally, giving rise to the EOR (Employer of Record) market. An EOR enables companies of any size to easily hire, manage, pay, and reward employees in any country, and today more than 40% of all global employers use an EOR.

One of the leaders in this market is Oyster, a fast-growing company founded as a B-Corp, dedicated with a mission to make global employment a single, seamless marketplace. The founder of Oyster, Tony Jamous, is a fascinating entrepreneur who has a unique way of describing global employment. In this podcast I interviewed Tony so he can explain some of the strategic issues in building a global company of any size.

I think you’ll find Oyster a high value solution provider that combines world-class technology with a strong culture of global advice, support, and regulatory compliance to help companies grow.

(FYI we are partners with Oyster in Galileo: Oyster’s extensive global employment practices database is embedded in Galileo to assist you with many strategic HR policies around the world.)

Like this podcast? Rate us on Spotify or Apple or YouTube.

Additional Information

The Definitive Guide to Corporate Learning

Oyster Announces Intelligent Global Employment – Redefining EOR Market

A Sneak Peek Under The Covers of AI-Fueled Recruiting, And Lots More

Josh Bersin — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:00:46 +0000

This week I explain some of the very cool things going on in AI-Fueled Recruiting (hot space), and also discuss how to start integrating all your talent acquisition tools. I also explain AMS One, the Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR), and why and how all these amazing AI agents are going to enable you to really rethink the operating model for talent acquisition.

This is a trillion dollar space and we all deal with it, and it’s also the area of HR where AI is the most mature. And as I explain, every innovation that takes place in talent acquisition has an impact on tools for internal HR, job mobility, career development, and even learning. In fact TA and L&D really are going to get locked at the hip going forward.

We will be launching our massive new research study on TA at Irresistible 2026, our flagship HR leadership conference in the world. It’s June 8-10 at the beautiful USC Campus in Los Angeles, and I promise you that you’ll see some amazing things there (including a tour of one of USC’s brand new research and arts centers).

Also come see us at Unleash 2026 in Vegas where we’ll be doing workshops for you on Galileo, highlighting the newest release – these hands-on workshops give you 90 minutes to see dozens of amazing AI use-cases and also teach you how to use Galileo as your copilot, teacher, and consultant in all areas of HR. (And listen to my keynote explaining the way AI has already started to change everything about HR.)

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Additional Information

Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO

My Video on Where Workday is Going

Secrets Of The High Performing CHRO

Alim Dhanji, CHRO of TD Synnex: Why He Left HR and Came Back. It’s All About The Business.

Josh Bersin — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:59:00 +0000

Alim Dhanji is a seasoned business executive (ex-President of Adidas Canada) who came back to HR with a fresh perspective on the business value of HR.

In this discussion Alim clearly articulates where and how he creates business value as a CHRO. This is a fascinating discussion about the value drivers of HR and AI and the process for redesigning work. He explains what he learned about the value of HR as a CEO, and how he then took that knowledge back into HR.

Sample Quotes:

“True change happens at the manager level, and there is a compression of demands at the people manager level. Our number one value diver is investment in the front-line people manager.”

“Managers just don’t have enough time in the day. Now by leveraging AI we can help managers create capacity to spend more time with teams and peers.”

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Additional Information

CHRO Insights Research Report

CHRO Insights Video (Youtube)

Introducing Galileo for Managers, The Leadership Guru At Your Fingertips

Enterprise AI Confusion: Client Discussions Explain AI Vendors, Job Redesign, and Transformation

Josh Bersin — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 20:53:24 +0000

After many weeks of work with corporate HR leaders, technology companies, and implementation teams I’m realizing the word that describes AI is “confusion.” Too much going on, too many unanswered questions, and no clarity about what to do. And many of you have been asked (or told) to lead the “AI Transformation” (which is the wrong phrase, as I explain) to reduce cost.

Well I hope today’s podcast gives you some clarity. Obviously the space is changing quickly, but there is a clear strategy emerging. I discuss the technology market, vendor strategies, and most important of all, how you as a business leader can leverage AI without going down dead ends.

I hope this gives you clarity, and I urge you to read our 2026 Imperatives for Enterprise AI for more.

Topics covered:

Why AI adoption isn’t a transformation — it’s a continuous learning process
How to design an architecture that avoids vendor chaos and data silos
The real ROI of AI: rethinking workflows and job structures, not just automating tasks
Strategies for navigating a confusing vendor landscape and building your own solutions
How to build a culture of trust and change, and empower employees
What to tell employees so they’ll lean in to change
The importance of speed, experimentation, and trusting the data over perfection.

If you’re in the middle of your AI strategy, please contact us. Our Systemic HR AI Blueprint will show you the way, and Galileo will help you with vendor analysis, process design, job redesign, and of course the training you need to enable your organization.

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Additional Information

The Definitive Guide to Corporate Learning

New Research: AI Doesn’t Just Improve Corporate Learning—It Replaces It.

Josh Bersin — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:36:31 +0000

This week we introduce our massive new research “The Definitive Guide to Corporate Learning: From Static Training To Dynamic Enablement.”

As you’ll read, this $400 Billion market is going to change in a huge way, and the opportunity for value is massive. As I explain in this podcast, it’s time to change the paradigm of “skills development” and move to a model of dynamic enablement.

Traditional L&D is not going away overnight, but the new world of AI-Native Learning is very different: faster, less expensive, and far more useful and relevant to employees. And best of all, we’re turning training and upskilling into a process of dynamic, continuous change.

Listen to this podcast to understand what’s going on, and then read our research to build your own roadmap.

If you’re an HR leader, L&D professional, content creator, or technology vendor – this new world is exciting and ready. And I expect the traditional L&D market to double in size within ten years and reach well over a $Trillion as we finally solve the problem of global knowledge management.

Important vendors here include Sana (Workday), Disperz, Cornerstone (new products coming), Arist, Uplimit and likely solutions from OpenAI and others. The traditional learning vendors (LinkedIn, Coursera, Pluralsight, Skillsoft, and others) are now just beginning to adapt to this new world, so it’s a time for disruption and new business models.

Join us on this journey. Get Galileo to experience AI-Native learning, learn more, read the research, and benchmark your own organization.

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Additional Information

The Collapse And Rebirth Of Online Learning And Professional Development

Enterprise AI Architectures and The Changed Role of HCM and ERP

Josh Bersin — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 03:59:47 +0000

AI Agents promise to revolutionize how we operate our companies, but this is much more than just recording meetings and summarizing emails. How do you build an Agent (and Superagent) architecture to re-engineer HR and what is the role of your core HCM platforms?

Well this is the trillion dollar question challenging every business software provider, and it has a huge impact on your HR and overall AI strategy. In this podcast I explain this topic and describe how employee onboarding, as an example, could be entirely redesigned for speed, scale, and agility.

This is a new world and for the first time in my career each of us, regardless of tech experience, will be able to redesign how our HR function works to move from “work productivity” to automation and tremendous new value creation strategies in HR.

Note that this week OpenAI announced its Frontier platform to help build enterprise agents. Microsoft recently introduced Agent 365 to help build enterprise Superagents. ServiceNow offers its Enterprise AI Control Tower, and Workday has introduced the Workday Agent System of Record. The space of agent management platforms is just beginning.

As you listen to this and ponder your situation I hope you consult Galileo for advice or call us. Our Systemic HR AI Blueprint is here to help you design and implement AI apps that will revolutionize HR and your business.

Enterprise AI is an exciting new domain and we are here to help.

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Additional Information

AI-Based Recruiting Lawsuits: Some History And Where This Is Going.

Josh Bersin — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 03:52:31 +0000

AI-driven recruiting is on the hot seat and it’s only getting hotter.

Most job seekers now experience AI-interviewers, AI-based screening, and even chatbots that can automate the entire process. And as this market grows, two new lawsuits (one against Workday, one against Eightfold) have emerged, indicating the “fear” job seekers have about this technology.

In the meantime, vendors are gobbling up these tools.

This includes Workday’s $1 billion acquisition of Paradox (and Hiredscore), SAP’s acquisition of Smartrecruiters, Outmatch’s acquisition of Pymetrics (renamed Harver), UKG’s acquisition of Chattr (renamed Rapid Hire), Radancy’s acquisition of myInterview, Hirevue’s acquisition of Modern Hire, Cornerstone’s acquisition of Skyhive (following acquisition of Clustree), Lightcast’s acquisition of Rhetorik, and more.

Where is all this going?

As I discuss, this is an enormous ($840 billion) market and there’s a lot yet to come. As I discuss, we are entering a whole new set of demands, demands for quality, explainability, skills verification, and bias-detection.

One of the big new trends is what we call “vertical data labeling” to increase transparency and quality. (The pioneer here is a company called Findem.) So for you as a buyer or user, it’s a time to focus on data and AI accuracy and completeness.

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Additional Information

People Data For Sale: How The Talent Intelligence Market Really Works

The Talent Acquisition Revolution: How AI is Transforming Recruiting

Imperatives for 2026: What’s Ahead for Enterprise AI, HR, Jobs, And Organizations

Get Galileo: The World’s AI Agent For Everything HR

How Costa Coffee Uses AI To Hire “Best Fit” Staff Which Candidates Love!

Josh Bersin — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:46:26 +0000

David Hughes, the Global People Leader for Costa Coffee (now at HSBC), discusses the company’s innovative approach to hiring using AI. Costa Coffee, a global brand with over 2,000 stores in the UK, faces significant hiring challenges due to high turnover rates and the need to hire thousands of baristas annually.

David explains how Costa has shifted its focus from hiring the “best” talent to finding the “best fit” talent that aligns with the company’s values and culture.

Using Sapia’s AI chat-based assessment, Costa has built a simple 5-question open chat survey that lets Costa identify the culture, behavioral, and work skills for best fit. This process not only scales to 350,000+ candidates, it also gives each candidate a personalized assessment and is rated 9 out of 10 on netpromoter score. In other words, candidates love it!

David emphasizes the importance of patience and persistence in adopting AI, highlighting the positive impact on recruitment efficiency and candidate satisfaction.

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Additional Information

The Talent Acquisition Revolution: How AI is Transforming Recruiting (research)

The Art, Science, And Magic Of Recruiting In The World of AI (podcast)

Radancy Integrates Recruitment And Launches New Copilot

Josh Bersin — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:08:38 +0000

In this podcast I talk with Nathan Perrott, VP of Innovation at Radancy. Radancy is a major provider of integrated recruiting tools, all integrated in what’s called the Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud.

You may not recognize the name, but Radancy is actually one of the pioneers in talent acquisition, originally started as TMP Worldwide. Over the last 40 years the company has been involved in all aspects of technology-enabled recruitment, (including Monster.com), so they understand job advertising, social media, candidate experience, branding, automated screening, and now AI-powered interviewing. The company’s integrated platform is one of the most end-to-end recruitment systems in the market (handles everything except the ATS) and more than 700 large corporations rely on Radancy.

Nathan has been in this space for many years so I ask him to explain how the market has changed, what their new AI copilot is all about, and how companies can save money and get ahead of the massive AI-fueled candidate and job posting market today.

Additional Information