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

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 Chapters (00:00:00) - The Way Companies Are Layoff(00:09:18) - The AI Talent Mobility Agent

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.) Chapters (00:00:00) - Advocacy of AI literacy(00:01:26) - Six Rules of AI Training(00:08:53) - Pacesetter: Trust, Security, and Legal Risk

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 Chapters (00:00:00) - Interviewing Ashutosh Garg on AI(00:00:35) - In the Elevator With Eightfold(00:08:17) - Is AI Involving the Interviewing Process Possible?(00:14:20) - Does AI Bias Affect Job Interviews?(00:16:37) - What should high-tech and research people know about entrepreneurship and business(00:18:11) - What is the Digital Twin?(00:22:24) - A Week in the Life of AI

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 Workday and Sana Unveil A Bold New Strategy For AI 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   Chapters (00:00:00) - Jobs and the job market(00:02:48) - Will the Self-Driving Car Change Your Career?(00:04:25) - The Future of Interconnections in HR Software(00:08:22) - How AI is Affecting Recruitment(00:17:46) - A message for the AI Technology community

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? Workday and Sana Unveil A Bold New Strategy For AI 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) Chapters (00:00:00) - Employee AI: Business Cases(00:01:22) - The Skills Taxonomy for Large Services Companies(00:07:02) - Six steps towards an AI-driven bank(00:10:23) - The 3 challenges of L&D training

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 Workday and Sana Unveil A Bold New Strategy For AI 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)   Chapters (00:00:00) - NASA's Galileo Release 4.7(00:06:10) - ServiceNow: Connecting with Galileo and Workday(00:10:00) - The next area of AI HR: Agents and Super Agents

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       Chapters (00:00:02) - SANA Announcement with Workday(00:04:12) - Workday Adding SANA to its Productivity Platform

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.         Chapters (00:00:00) - HR Technology: The Future of IT(00:11:00) - The Future of HR IT Is AI

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  Chapters (00:00:00) - All the HR Technology Announcements(00:07:29) - Oracle's strategy for growth(00:10:37) - Microsoft's Copilot, and More

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   Chapters (00:00:00) - Analysts on Oracle's Earnings(00:01:35) - Oracle's Rise to the Cloud(00:08:43) - Oracle's Future in the AI World