'Smart people changing': How humans and agentic AI co-exist

Cornerstone OnDemand has unveiled a new AI-powered workforce intelligence platform designed to help organisations identify, develop and retain talent as businesses increasingly adopt agentic AI technologies.

The launch of Workforce AI comes as enterprises grapple with the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, including workforce disruption, skills shortages and the need for stronger governance around AI deployment.

The platform brings together Cornerstone's learning, talent management and workforce development capabilities into a single agentic AI-based environment, giving organisations a clearer understanding of their existing workforce capabilities and identifying pathways for employees to develop AI-related skills.

The recently appointed Vice President, APJ at Cornerstone OnDemand, Brenton Smith, said rather than viewing AI as a way to replace its employees, organisations should focus on how emerging technologies can enhance and optimise workforce development.

"AI is absolutely here to stay," Smith said.

"It is going to transform the world in a way that we've never expected. But people are pretty key to the whole thing."

While AI technologies are expected to automate many repetitive and administrative tasks, saving businesses significant resources, businesses must first understand the capabilities that already exist within their workforce before making significant staffing decisions. 

A recent survey of over 1000 people management staff across ANZ found that, despite 96 per cent of HR leaders being confident in AI readiness, fewer than 50 per cent of employees shared that sentiment.

Many employees are already developing AI-related skills independently and it is in companies' best interests to encourage, nurture and redeploy that talent in concert with automation and effective agentic AI adoption. 

Smith has noticed a trend that staff, predominantly younger cohorts but coming from every demographic, are increasingly keen on exploring how AI can assist them in the workplace, as well as complementing their skillset in the context of future career progression.

There's no doubt agentic AI will have a significant impact on the workforce, with some roles likely to change substantially as automation becomes more sophisticated.

Manual, time-consuming tasks that used to take hours or even days can be completed by an AI agent in hours, if not minutes. But that does not mean humans are becoming obsolete. 

Smith is adamant that in spite of fear of being replaced, employees who learn how to effectively harness AI will be the ones coming out ahead.

"People are building their own agents to help them do things around their current jobs and get things done more quickly so they can advance their careers," Smith said.

"We're seeing a gap between ambitious individuals who are learning AI themselves and what businesses are doing to control, secure and organise that activity.

"The smart people are changing their jobs before someone changes it for them."

However, the threats of so-called shadow AI, AI hallucinations and improperly deployed agents for enterprises are real, and must be mitigated.

As businesses rush to deploy AI technologies, concerns around cybersecurity, data protection and governance continue to grow.

Enterprises should be prioritising AI deployments within established enterprise software environments, rather than allowing uncontrolled experimentation across the organisation.

"If we don't offer agentic-based solutions and full choice of large language models in a secure, managed environment, companies are going to have AI and agents running wild across their organisations," Smith said.

Cornerstone Workforce AI has been designed to provide organisations with a governed framework for deploying AI-driven workflows and agents while meeting regulatory and security requirements.

Early customers have cited governance as a key reason for adopting the platform.

"Some organisations have said they're all over the place with AI adoption," Smith said.

"They want a solution that allows them to demonstrate to the board that AI initiatives are being developed within a safe and secure architecture."

A major component of Cornerstone's strategy centres on AI-powered learning and workforce development.

The company has introduced dynamic learning capabilities that can automatically generate training content from existing materials, creating interactive videos and personalised learning experiences tailored to individual employees.

The new technology enables organisations to move beyond traditional one-size-fits-all training programs, with better curated modules leading to more empowered employees, in turn delivering improved results.

"The learning can be targeted to people at all levels of AI expertise and help them become more proficient in using AI productively," Smith said.

Cornerstone's workforce intelligence capabilities also allow organisations to map employee skills, identify future talent requirements and determine which employees are best positioned for reskilling initiatives.

This approach will become increasingly important as businesses seek to balance workforce optimisation with long-term talent retention.

"Let's not get rid of the wrong people," Smith said. 

"Let's identify the people who can go through these development programs, come out the other end and deliver real value to the organisation."

As companies across APJ continue to evaluate the impact of AI on their operations, workforce visibility and skills intelligence will become critical competitive differentiators.

Organisations will require a common, consistent, and dynamic view of their people, their skills, and their development pathways. In concert with effective deployment of agentic tools, this will be crucial for enterprises achieving growth and desired results going forward.

"AI will transform businesses, but success will ultimately depend on how effectively organisations develop and utilise their people alongside the technology," Smith said.