AI Agents: The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For

AI Agents: The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For

Here Comes the Agents!

If you’ve been following the AI tech landscape, you’ve likely heard the buzz about “Agentic AI.”

If not, I encourage you to check out Josh Bersin’s article on the subject, which clearly explains it and provides some practical use cases.

AI Agents are not just passive assistants helping you find answers or compose emails—they are empowered agents capable of executing tasks on your behalf. Think about it as the next major leap in artificial intelligence: transitioning from Large Language Models to Large Action Models.

It’s exciting, disruptive, and daunting all at once.

What Is Agentic AI?

Agentic AI is a step beyond the AI tools we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few years. While previous AI models excel at processing information and responding to queries, agentic AI can actually *do* things. Picture an AI that doesn’t just answer your questions about a product launch but instead builds an entire course on the product for your sales team. It contacts experts, records interviews, assembles the material and even tracks its impact—all with minimal human input.

In the recruitment world, imagine an AI agent that takes job descriptions, finds qualified candidates, sends personalized interview invites, and processes recorded responses, creating an efficient hiring funnel in hours. What we’re talking about here is the automation of actions we typically associate with human intelligence, judgment, and labor.

This shift will profoundly change how we work, and I see massive potential for efficiency gains, particularly in the Learning and Development (L&D) space. But I also foresee challenges ahead, especially in terms of the human response to these agents.

The Game-Changing Potential for L&D

Having worked in L&D for over 15 years, I’ve seen firsthand the inefficiencies in course design, from gathering content to organizing subject matter experts and ensuring the final product meets the needs of the learners. The concept of an L&D AI agent excites me. Imagine a tool that could drastically reduce the amount of time and coordination needed to build and deliver high-quality learning experiences. No more back-and-forth with SMEs, no more endless revisions, no more manual analytics.

I’ve spent countless hours working on learning solutions that should be, in theory, much quicker to develop but got bogged down by administrative hurdles. Agentic AI offers a streamlined process where managers can tell the AI to design a course and then focus on improving its impact, not building it from scratch. This could potentially free up L&D teams to focus on more strategic initiatives like innovation, personalization, and learner engagement rather than getting stuck in the weeds.

The Risks and the Human Backlash

However, while I’m genuinely excited about the potential of this technology, I’m also concerned about the backlash it might trigger. First, the ethical questions. As AI agents take on tasks traditionally handled by humans, it’s only natural that concerns about job displacement will rise. L&D professionals might feel threatened by these technologies, fearing that the core of their work is being automated away. It’s a legitimate concern, especially for those whose day-to-day tasks involve repetitive processes like course development or recruitment workflows.

Moreover, there’s the potential for over-reliance on AI agents. No matter how advanced these systems become, there will always be aspects of human decision-making and creativity that AI can’t fully replicate. What if the AI develops content that is factually correct but lacks nuance? Or what if it misses the cultural tone necessary for a specific audience? While AI agents will likely perform exceptionally well in data-driven tasks, the emotional intelligence and context sensitivity needed in many learning environments could be lacking. There is a fine line between using AI to assist and letting it control.

Lastly, companies will have to manage security and privacy concerns. AI agents will handle sensitive data, from personal employee information in recruitment to proprietary company information in learning solutions. As much as these tools can streamline processes, they also introduce new vulnerabilities. Ensuring their safe implementation will be critical to avoiding backlash and mistrust.

My 2-Cents: A Necessary Evolution

From my perspective, agentic AI is not something to fear, but something we need to learn how to manage wisely. The inefficiencies I’ve seen firsthand in L&D scream for a solution like this that frees professionals from mundane tasks and allows them to focus on what really matters—delivering value. But we need to approach this shift with caution. It’s essential that we, as leaders and professionals, stay proactive in understanding both the opportunities and risks of these AI tools.

The organizations that succeed will be the ones that find a balance between human expertise and AI assistance. We will need to re-skill and shift our focus, viewing AI as a powerful tool in our arsenal rather than a replacement for human effort. The potential for backlash is real, but with thoughtful management and clear communication about the role of these agents, we can harness their potential without alienating our workforce.

As agentic AI integrates further into our work lives, we should remember that the best tools are those that augment human ability, not replace it. I’m excited to see where this technology takes us, but I remain cautiously optimistic about the future.

What do you think about Agentic AI? How do you see it impacting your work?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.