The Josh Bersin Company

As AI vendors hype “recursive self-improvement” and other scary features, we see more and more “mainstreaming” of AI technology in business. In other words, the AI does not solve problems by itself: we as HR and IT leaders need to clearly define our needs and then buy, build, and tune the technologies we buy.

Some AI vendors (ie. Paradox, Radancy, Sana, Maki, others) are laser focused on very specific use-cases, and they are delivering solution-first offerings that really add value. The frontier vendors, however, are struggling to do this and much of their revenue still comes from “enabling others” to create solutions. And the new usage-based pricing is forcing this kind of pragmatic thinking.

In this podcast I highlight this “commoditization” of core AI features and explain why your “problem identification” work is perhaps the biggest effort in the HR 2030 Agentic HR strategy.

(Take our new HR 2030 course or sign up for our new Global HR Excellence Certification.)

Additional Information

Is AI A “Normal” Technology?

The Rise of the Supermanager

Our New Book Superpowered, Coming This Fall!

New Course: Galileo Is Ready To Teach You What You Need to Know about HR 2030

 

 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - A Lesson on AI in Software Engineering
(00:09:44) - Bill Gates on the Need for People in AI

We’re now a week past Irresistible 2026 and I want to recap what has been happening in enterprise AI and explain the HR 2030 program. First I discuss how the entire AI industry is over-inflated and what that means to enterprise users. Next I explain why the $1.5 Trillion invested in AI is leading to high prices and more focused projects. And third I explain what our HR 2030 program is all about and how you can join us.

Three big messages here: first AI is now a powerful, early-stage, but expensive technology – so taking an architectural, business-case approach is now needed. (No more “playing around” in corporate systems.) Second, the market is exploding with innovation, forcing you to stay educated on the architectural and vendor issues. Third, your ongoing skills and education are critical to your new HR operating model, tools, and process decisions. Culture and leadership are more important than ever.

Additional Information

HR 2030 Blueprint and Vision (register here for ongoing updates)

The New Global HR Excellence Certification by The Josh Bersin Institute

Get Galileo: The Everything Superagent for HR (coming soon to MS copilot)

 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The Future of AI and HR Technology
(00:03:43) - The AI Technology Market: Overhyped?
(00:10:50) - HR 2030: Your Own Education and Skills

As we prepare for these juggernauts to go public, I’m reminded of Yahoo, Excite, and AOL who dominated the first four years of the internet. Despite their lead, Google stole the market away. Could the same thing happen again?

The argument is not that these companies aren’t powerful, but rather that they’re so committed to their current path that they may miss the big opportunity in the future. If you look at HR 2030 and what we want to do with enterprise AI, the ability to generate code, graphics, and text may not be what we need. And our new research on Galileo business modeling is starting to pan this out.

Now that AI prices are high, we all have to look for bigger use-cases for agents. In this podcast I explain what “Dynamic Enablement for Growth” really means and how LLMs only take us so far, with a new frontier yet to come. As always I welcome opinions and feedback on this thesis.

Additional Information To Come….

Get Galileo and see business modeling in action.

The New Global HR Excellence Certification – Join the Inaugural Cohort!

HR 2030: Time to Reinvent HR Around Agents

 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - AI Hype Has Some Limits
(00:00:45) - In the Elevation of Large Language Models
(00:03:57) - A Hackers Bought a Hacker's Card
(00:05:25) - Beyond the Frontier: The Business Value of AI
(00:09:52) - What HR 2030 Agents Need to Do
(00:14:41) - What Does This Mean for AI in HR?

Here’s my brief recap of the amazing Irresistible 2026 (photos coming), and my discussion with clients about many things, including the new insane costs of AI. I just read a study that Ramp (credit card) did, discovering that the top AI users are spending $7500 per month per employee on AI. (Yikes!)

That aside, the conference was spectacular and we all learned a lot. Stay tuned for a more detailed article on the Pacesetters and other major research we unveiled. In the meantime here’s my update on economics and AI maturity (companies are maturing and learning about this stuff quickly), as well as my heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated.

Additional Information

Announcements: The Josh Bersin Institute, HR 2030, And The Global HR Excellence Certification.

HR 2030: Overview and Detailed Blueprint for clients and Galileo Users

AI Prices Are Going Up, Up, Up – And What This Means For Enterprise AI

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Irresistible Conference 2017
(00:00:55) - What I Learned at the Conference on AI & the Code
(00:01:52) - The role of data in AI HR
(00:03:44) - The Token Economics of AI
(00:08:03) - Intro to Enterprise AI and HR
(00:12:29) - The Future of AI HR
(00:15:42) - Happy Summer Solstice!

Welcome to IRRESISTIBLE 2026 at USC in beautiful Los Angeles! Today we welcome 450 of our closest friends and introduce The Josh Bersin Institute Global HR Excellence Certification (GHRE). This is all focused on preparing you for HR 2030, which we also introduced today.

Additional Information

Josh Bersin Institute Launch Video

HR 2030 Launch Video

Details On Launch And New Galileo Capabilities

 

 

 

Chapters

(00:00:00) - HRUC2026: The Future of AI Jobs
(00:02:47) - Josh Burson Institute Launches Global HR Excellence Program