Business Leaders Are Leaning Into AI, but They Can’t Do It Without Hiring Humans. Where Are the Profits?
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Business Leaders Are Leaning Into AI, but They Can’t Do It Without Hiring Humans. Where Are the Profits?
Technology updates are a constant in business. Artificial intelligence applications are hitting differently, forcing structural change.
That doesn’t mean slashing jobs for tech to take over, at least at first. Professionals who can figure out how to get staff to use AI safely and efficiently are in high demand. Some businesses have to hire, not cut, to make AI work.
The hiring boss: AI is easier; people are tough
Recently, Larry Solomon, EPAM’s Chief People Officer, shared his thoughts on AI in the workplace at the Sept. 22 conference for HR managers in Philadelphia, hosted by From Day One.
The top corporate-hiring position as of 2026 is the forward deployed engineer (FDE) who understands AI agents and technology, has a deep understanding of the business, has solid change-management and relationship skills.
‘Adjusting to AI’ goes beyond learning the products; it means you can work your way around an office and a bureaucracy and make yourself understood at different levels of an organization to implement AI agents and systems. For that, you often need to have experience — with meshing systems, and with failures.
AI hasn’t reduced the need for most technical staff. It has shifted AI spending, disrupting legacy commercial models, and has changed the way sellers sell and buyers buy services.
That’s a business opportunity, not a technical problem.
We put a greater emphasis on continuous learning and developing the skills, tools, and capabilities employees need to operate effectively in an AI-driven environment.
Given HR’s role in understanding the new technology, negotiating and implementing pricing, using AI insights to [justify] staffing decisions, the HR function is becoming more important, not less.
AI will not take jobs away. The resistance to change, experimentation, learning, and adopting these new technical realities is the threat.
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