In an era where artificial intelligence is transforming businesses, the World Economic Forum in Davos this year sheds light on an emerging reality: AI is no longer just a tool; it’s becoming a colleague and, perhaps, an employee.
Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice, has been at the forefront of this conversation. Her HR software company announced last year that it would treat AI workers like humans, giving them official employee records and onboarding them like real employees. However, the idea met resistance from actual human employees, leading Lattice to pause the initiative. Reflecting on the experience, Franklin remarked, “We were ahead, but by months.” As discussions at Davos indicate, her concept might have been ahead of its time but remains highly relevant.
The hype around artificial intelligence has grown significantly over the past two years, but it’s the concept of agentic AI—AI that can act and make decisions independently—that’s gaining traction among business stakeholders. The call for tangible, immediate benefits from AI investments is louder than ever, as businesses seek returns on their investments.
The Management Challenge: Humans and AI Collaborating
Alan Flower, global head of AI at HCLTech, emphasized the complexity of managing a workforce that includes both humans and AI agents. “As a manager, I’m going to be managing a human workforce and an agentic workforce at the same time—they’re going to have to collaborate,” he noted. The key question is how to facilitate collaboration and motivation between AI agents, including those from different companies. “Will we get to a phase where agentic AI will be given KPIs?” Flower mused, highlighting the need for new management strategies.
One of the lessons Lattice learned was the importance of communication. “People are more comfortable with the word ‘agent’ than they are with ‘digital worker,'” Franklin observed. She emphasized the need for education about AI’s capabilities and the conversations it can have.
For HR leaders and companies like Lattice, which count AI leaders like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic among their customers, this represents a significant opportunity. Becky Frankiewicz, chief commercial officer at ManpowerGroup, echoed the sentiment, noting the need for AI managers to oversee AI agents. “The first step is deploying them and making them productive. The next step is managing them,” she said.
As AI continues to take on more responsibilities in the workforce, the importance of governance and trust cannot be overstated. Franklin believes that acknowledging the new reality and fostering comfortable, natural collaboration between humans and AI is crucial. “We need everyone to get to this place where they’re comfortable, they’re not afraid,” she concluded. “And we can work together with AI in the workforce in a way that feels natural.”
