The Future of HR: Finding a Third Way with AI Through The Noise, Part 1

At Work with The Ready

One midnight scroll through LinkedIn is all it takes to be overwhelmed with AI stories and hot takes. There’s a massive amount of confusion, apprehension, excitement, and just general noisiness to make sense of, some which is created by AI tools themselves. But as more and more AI-powered solutions promising to revolutionize HR flood the market—and as more and more employees spiral with worry that the’ll be automated out of their jobs—how are we supposed to get caught up on some AI basics? Let alone actually use these tools at work?

In this miniseries, Brave New Work’s Rodney Evans is joined by friend-of-the-pod and Ready OG Sam Spurlin to dive into how HR can become more resilient, efficient, and equitable.

Today on episode 8, they explore how AI will help the most advanced HR teams move from Level 4 to Level 5 of our maturity model—and how it can be a positive force for change if we’re asking the right questions and trying to solve the right problems. In fact, Rodney and Sam had so much to digest, this episode became a two-parter.

Today on Part 1, they dig into:

• How cultural takes on AI are already falling into old patterns
• Rodney and Sam’s own personal AI journeys
• How to start small and begin your AI exploration in a Mission-Based Team
• The AI-powered upgrades that take HR from Level 4 to Level 5 of our maturity model

Mentioned references:

• Oops! All Berries (the Cap'n Crunch cereal variant)
• "Betamax vs VHS"
• ChatGPT
• MidJourney
• Law of requisite variety ("Ashby's Law")
• MBTs (Mission-Based Teams)
• Early AI research into Go and Starcraft
• The DAO arc: BNW Eps. 105-107, 109-111, 113-115, and 124-125

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Learn more about The Future of HR at our website.

Curious where your company sits on our 5-stage maturity model? Take our assessment and find out!

Have a burning HR question for Rodney and Sam to answer? Email us at [e-mail].

Ready to get started moving your HR department into the future? Email us at [e-mail] or [e-mail].

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00:00 Introduction & Check-In: What is your favorite evidence that you have had a successful time off?

04:05 Level setting for the AI conversation

08:57 Rodney and Sam’s personal AI adventures

14:16 Exploring AI in Mission-Based Teams

20:01 Knowledge barrier to begin experimenting is low

22:12 AI and counterintuitive moves

25:41 AI’s role in the move from Level 4 to Level 5

30:59: Impact on human beings from atomized marketplace roles

32:40 AI in industrial-era org vs AI in evolutionary org

35:59 Wrap up: leave us a review and share with your HR friends