In a comprehensive virtual roundtable hosted by Business Insider’s Workforce Innovation board, leading executives from major corporations shared their strategies for integrating artificial intelligence into their organizations over the next 12 months. The discussion, moderated by BI’s Tim Paradis, brought together leaders from IBM, Infosys, AARP, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Indeed, Clear Capital, and Weber Shandwick to address how AI will reshape work and employee development.
Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM’s vice president and chief impact officer, predicted that “any tasks or jobs in the company that could be automated by AI will happen within the next year.” She emphasized IBM’s commitment to scale 2 million people in AI by 2026, highlighting the urgency of ensuring workers aren’t left behind. IBM has implemented company-wide AI challenges where employees receive training and work in teams to develop innovative AI solutions.
Anant Adya from Infosys outlined a dual strategy: becoming an “AI-first enterprise” internally while infusing AI into all customer offerings. The company’s philosophy centers on amplifying productivity rather than replacing employees, focusing on “people-plus-AI-based offerings.”
Marjorie Powell from AARP stressed the importance of upskilling and reskilling, particularly in prompt engineering, which she believes should become a universal employee skill rather than a specialized role. AARP has created a “community of practice” where employees can experiment with AI tools in a sandbox environment and engage in peer learning across business units.
Alicia Pittman from BCG reported impressive adoption rates, with over 70% of their 35,000 employees actively using generative AI. Employees have created more than 1,000 custom GPTs for various tasks, demonstrating bottom-up innovation. She noted that gen AI creates an “exoskeleton for generalists” to tackle more technical tasks.
The executives unanimously rejected dire predictions from Sun Microsystems cofounder Vinod Khosla that AI might render education and upskilling “impotent.” Instead, they emphasized transparent communication, continuous learning cultures, and the enduring need for human workers alongside AI systems. Key skills identified include data literacy, prompt engineering, adaptability, and problem-solving.
Key Quotes
Any tasks or jobs in the company that could be automated by AI will happen within the next year.
Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM’s vice president and chief impact officer, made this bold prediction about the pace of AI automation, emphasizing the urgency for companies to prepare their workforce for rapid transformation.
AI is not about replacing an individual or replacing an employee but how we can amplify our productivity by using the tools.
Anant Adya from Infosys articulated a key philosophy shared by the roundtable participants, positioning AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement technology, which counters common fears about AI-driven job displacement.
It’s important that everyone learns how to deal with prompt engineering; we are not going to hire prompt engineers.
Marjorie Powell from AARP emphasized that prompt engineering should become a universal employee skill rather than a specialized role, highlighting how AI literacy is becoming as fundamental as computer literacy once was.
Gen AI also offers an opportunity to avoid leakage of human capital, which obviously we all care quite a lot about.
Alicia Pittman from Boston Consulting Group highlighted an often-overlooked benefit of generative AI: its ability to capture and retain institutional knowledge that would otherwise be lost when employees move on, addressing a critical challenge in knowledge management.
Our Take
This roundtable reveals a striking consensus among enterprise leaders: AI adoption is accelerating faster than many predicted, but the human element remains central. The most telling insight is the shift from top-down AI mandates to bottom-up innovation, as evidenced by BCG’s 1,000+ employee-created custom GPTs. This suggests that successful AI transformation requires empowering workers to experiment and innovate, not just implementing enterprise-wide tools.
The rejection of Vinod Khosla’s pessimistic predictions is significant—these aren’t AI skeptics but leaders actively deploying AI at scale. Their optimism stems from practical experience showing AI amplifies rather than replaces human capabilities. However, the emphasis on urgency and the digital divide suggests a bifurcation risk: organizations and workers who embrace AI literacy will thrive, while those who don’t may face obsolescence. The focus on transparent communication and learning cultures indicates that change management, not just technology, will determine AI transformation success.
Why This Matters
This roundtable discussion provides crucial insights into how major corporations are navigating the AI transformation of their workforces, offering a roadmap for businesses of all sizes. The consensus among industry leaders that AI will augment rather than replace human workers contradicts more pessimistic predictions and suggests a collaborative future between humans and AI systems.
The emphasis on upskilling and reskilling demonstrates that successful AI adoption requires significant investment in human capital, not just technology. With IBM committing to train 2 million people in AI by 2026 and BCG achieving 70% employee adoption rates, these companies are setting benchmarks for AI integration.
The discussion highlights critical trends including bottom-up innovation (BCG’s 1,000+ custom GPTs), the democratization of technical skills through AI tools, and the importance of creating learning cultures. For businesses, the message is clear: AI transformation requires transparent communication, continuous learning opportunities, and a focus on amplifying human capabilities rather than replacement. The global labor shortage mentioned by AARP reinforces that human workers remain essential, but adaptability and AI literacy are becoming non-negotiable skills for workforce relevance.
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