Imagine an eighty-year-old grandmother discussing Russian literature with ChatGPT in her native tongue; it is a powerful reminder that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a present reality that bridges generations. For CHROs, the challenge is not simply the technology itself, but rather shifting the human behaviour that interacts with these tools. In this episode, Joanne Rodgers, the CHRO of New York Life, shares the strategic roadmap used to scale AI adoption across 24,000 employees and agents by focusing on the mindset, skill set, and tool set. We explored the firm's Ignite AI initiative, which prioritised responsible AI and AI training, remarkably leading to the creation of over 10,000 self-made GPTs. We look into how they integrated mandatory AI goals into performance reviews while maintaining a strict human-in-the-loop governance model to protect the employee experience. Moreover, Joanne highlights the success of their career hub and talent marketplace, explaining how time-bound gigs have boosted internal mobility to 40%. This discussion is your fresh playbook in change management, demonstrating how to foster employee engagement and upskilling in a rapidly evolving landscape without sacrificing the essential human element.

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January 16, 2026:

Everyone keeps asking whether AI is going to destroy jobs. That question is already outdated.

In this episode of Future-Ready Today, I walk through five stories that reveal what's really happening in the labor market—and why the biggest risk isn't job loss, but broken pipelines.

I explore why Boomers are staying in the workforce longer while Gen Z struggles to break in, how AI is driving a surge in construction and infrastructure jobs, and why the real bottleneck in the AI economy isn't software talent but electricians, plumbers, and skilled trades. I also unpack new data showing that AI has already created more than a million jobs globally—and why those jobs aren't evenly accessible. And finally, I look at what it means when firms like McKinsey deploy tens of thousands of AI agents and fundamentally change the leverage equation in knowledge work.

Taken together, these stories point to a hard truth: AI isn't replacing humans—it's exposing weak systems. Systems that stopped training, stopped investing in skills, and assumed talent pipelines would take care of themselves.

January 15, 2026: AI job data says work is stable. Productivity reports promise trillions in gains. Job seekers tell me finding work is getting harder. These stories can't all be true at the same time.

In this episode of Future Ready Today, I break down new research from Anthropic on how AI is quietly reshaping jobs task by task, why supposed productivity gains are leaking away through rework and quality issues, how bold $4.5 trillion productivity projections depend on leadership decisions most companies still aren't making, and why job seekers are sensing a tightening labor market before it shows up in official data.

This isn't an episode about AI hype or fear. It's about the growing disconnect between what the data says, what companies promise, and what workers are actually experiencing — and what leaders need to understand if they want to be future ready.