PROPHET

Human-centeredAI

CultureastheCatalystforAI-enabledGrowth

ManyorganizationsarechasingAIefficiency—butnot

buildingthehumaninfrastructuretosupportit.Torealizeuncommongrowth,thenextwaveoftransformationcan’tjustbetechnical.Itmustbecultural.

UNCOMMONGROWTH

Contents

Introduction03

AbouttheResearch04

ExecutiveSummary06

YourOrganization’sDNA10

AligningAIwith

PurposeandValues

YourOrganization’sMind15

ScalingSkillsforWhat’sNext

YourOrganization’sBody21

RedesigningHowWorkGetsDone

YourOrganization’sSoul28

DeepeningHumanConnection

BuildingtheCEO-CHRO33Partnership

FinalThoughts38

HowtoWorkwithProphet39

AbouttheAuthors40

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI2

Therehasneverbeenamore

importanttimefororganizationstobehuman.

INTRODUCTION

AIhasleaptfrombuzzwordto

Thehuman

boardroompriority—redefiningroles,reshapingworkflowsandunlockingnewleversforgrowth.While

technologyaccelerates,theculturalchangesneededtosupportAIare

lagginginmostcompanies.

Todeliverimpact,AIcannotbe

treatedasasideprojectorpoint

solution.Itmustbeembeddedintoeverylayerofanorganization—

woventhroughstrategy,systems,

talent,andleadership.Andthattakesmorethandeployment.Ittakesa

holisticunderstandingofthewayorganizationswork.

ThereisagrowingrecognitionthatAIhasthepotentialtoliberatepeoplefromroutinetasksandunlockmoremeaningfulwork.Buttwochallengesstandintheway.

First,mostorganizationsare

experimentinginafragmented,

divergentmanneracrossfunctionsandoperations.

Second,veryfewareintegratingAIacrosstheentireorganizationinanyattemptatacoherentAI-enabled

workforcestrategy.

Holisticadoptionrequiresmorethaninvestment.Itdemandssynchronizedleadership,clearpriorities,anda

culturalmandate.AtProphet,we

seetheneedforCEOstoactnowinordertoorganizeandharnessthegrowthopportunitythatAIpresents.

Introduction:

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI3

Aboutthe

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI4

ABOUTTHERESEARCH

WeinterviewedCEOsandCHROs

ofF500companiesinEuropeand

NorthAmericaacrosshealthcare,

financialservices,logistics,tech,

media,andretailtounderstandhowAIisimpactingtheirorganization’s

culture.WeidentifiedemergingbestpracticestohelpleadersharnessAI’sfullpotential,amplifyingitsimpact

whiletransforminghowpeoplework,connect,andengage.

Wealsodrawinsightsfromour

recentglobalstudy,“TheRiseofthe

AI-PoweredConsumer.”Responses

from2,400peoplerevealedthat45%ofconsumershadadoptedGenAI

toolsinthepastsixmonths,outpacingbusinessexpectations.Wefoundthatmanyofthoseconsumerfindings

holdforemployeestoo.AsemployeesincreasinglyadoptAIandbeginusingitmoreandmoreatwork,businessesneedtopurposefullyembedAIwithintheirorganizationstoensureitis

alignedtotheirbusinessstrategyandgoals—drivingtherightimpactintherightway.

Thisreporttranslatesourfindingsintopractical,high-impactguidancefor

thetworolesmostcriticaltosuccess:

theCEOandtheCHRO.TheCEO

mustdefinethestrategicwhy.The

CHROmustdelivertheculturalhow.Together,theycanembedAIasnot

onlyatool,butatruevaluedriver—

unlockingtrust,fluency,andresilienceonthepathtouncommongrowth.

45%

45%ofconsumershaveadoptedGenAItoolsinthepastsixmonths.

Prophet,TheRiseoftheAI-PoweredConsumer(2024)

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI

ExecutiveSummary

AI+human-centeredtransformation=

UncommonGrowth

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI6

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI7

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

PROPHET’SHUMAN-CENTEREDTRANSFORMATIONMODEL

AIadoptionisacceleratingatafeveredpace—but

ofteninpiecemeal,siloedefforts.Yetourresearchisclear:realimpactdoesn’tcomefromupgradesalone.Itcomesfromalignment,whenculture,leadership,

andtalentallmoveinthesamedirection.That’swhenAIevolvesfromatooltoagrowthengine.

In2019,wedevelopedthe

Human-CenteredTransformationModel(HCTM)throughour

researchwithglobalexecutivestoidentifythecriticalleversfor

change.Wehavevalidatedthe

modelyearafteryearsincethenandfoundittobeespecially

helpfulinevaluatingAIreadinessincompanies.

Weseeorganizationsasa

macrocosmofanindividual,withDNA,aMind,Body,andSoul,all

ofwhichmustbealignedand

nurturedifthehumansystemistofunctioneffectively.

We’vefoundaleadershipdivide,withCEOsandCHROsoftenoutofsync.LeadersagreethatAIcanelevate

humanwork.ButCEOsandCHROsoftencometoAIthroughdifferentdoorsandrarelyco-create

acoherentstrategy.

Mostorganizationsarestillearly

inembeddingAI,focusingmore

onexternaloperations,andless

oninternalefforts,includingthe

employeejourney.Thatmeanstheyaremissingopportunitiesforbroad-basedvaluecreation.

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI8

AI’spromiseisreal—butsoarethegrowingpains.Mostcompanieshitthesamefourspeedbumps.

DNADisconnect

Ambitionexists,alignmentdoesn’t

OrganizationalDNAencompassesacompany’spurposeandvalues.AIisoftenadoptedasa

toolforefficiencyorinnovation—butwithouttyingitbacktopurpose,values,andstrategy,itlacksstayingpower.Manyleaderssay,“AI

doesn’tchangewhatwedo,justhowwedoit,”yetfewhavedefinedthe“how”inawaythatreflectswhotheyareasanorganization.

WithoutaunifyingAIphilosophy,effortsbecomefragmented,erodingclarityandemployeetrust.

MindMissteps

SkillslagbehindAIadoption

OrganizationsareracingtoexperimentwithAI—buttalentstrategieshaven’tcaughtup.Mostareunderinvestinginworkforcereadiness,assumingAIisintuitiveorthatskillswillevolveorganically.

Theresult:overwhelmedemployees,underusedtools,andmissedopportunitiestounlockAI’sfullvalue.Nearlyeveryleaderwespoketoadmittedtheirpeopleweren’tbeingequippedatthepaceAIdemands.

BodyBuildingPotential

Outdatedstructuresstallprogress

AI’stransformativepowerisbluntedwhenit’s

boltedontooutdatedsystems.Manycompanieshavefocusedonautomatingtasksbuthaven’tredesignedworkflows,teamstructures,or

decisionrightstotrulyintegrateAI.

Rigidhierarchiesandisolatedtechteams

preventAIfromscalingorsolvingrealbusinessproblems.Withoutstructuralchange,peopledon’tknowhowtocontribute,andAIstays

stuckinpilots—notperformance.

SoulSearching

Failingtoclarifythehumanrole

AsAIbecomesmoreembeddedindailywork,

it’snotjusttoolsthatneedupgrading—it’strust.

ManyemployeesfeelanxiousaboutwhatAI

meansfortheirroles,purpose,andconnectiontoothers.Withoutaclear,human-centerednarrative,uncertaintyfillsthevoid.Readiness,then,isn’tjusttechnical—it’scultural.

Employeesneedboththepermissionand

motivationtoexperiment,fail,andgrow.

Organizationsthatleadthewayarethosethat

combineastrongAIvisionwithaculturethatgivespeoplepermissiontoexploreandthesupport

tothrive.

What’snext?

CEOsshouldtakeaholisticviewofAIthatisgroundedinthepurpose,andempowertheorganizationtomoveforwardtogether.

CHROsneedtoalignonasharedAIvision,anddesignpeopleandenterprisegrowthstrategiesintandem,notinsilos.

What’snext?

CEOsmustdefinewhatAIfluencylookslikeatdifferentlevelsandresetleadershipexpectationsfortheAIage.

CHROsmustembedthoseexpectationsintotalentanddevelopmentframeworkssotheirpeopleareequippedatthepaceAIdemands.

What’snext?

CEOsmustrethinkoperatingmodelstoembedAInatively.

CHROsneedtoredesignjobsandclarifywherehumansleadandwhereAIsupports.

What’snext?

CEOsshouldleadwithempathyandcommunicatehowAIenables—

notreplaces—humans.

CHROsmustchampionwell-being,

psychologicalsafety,andhumanconnection.

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI9

turninsight

Workwithus:

intoadvantage

AIisalreadyreshapingyourworkforce,your

customers,andyourcompetitors.Thereal

differentiatorishowalignedyourleadershipis

acrosstechnology,talentandculture.Prophet

helpsCEOsandCHROsembedAIwhereitmattersmost:intothesystems,skills,values,andbehaviorsthatpowerlong-termgrowth.

Let’sbuildthekindoforganizationAIwasmadefor—resilient,adaptive,andhumanatitscore.

YourOrganization’sDNA

AligningAIwith

PurposeandValues

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI10

AIdoesn’tchangeourvalues–itacceleratesthemand

improveshowwedeliveronthem.AteBay,innovationis

integraltowhatwedo,actingwithintegrity,beforeveryone,deliveringwithimpact.We’retrainingourleadersonhowtomitigatebiasastheydothat.Makingsureaswe’removingforwardwithurgencyandbuildingthisAIcapability,our

leadersareensuringwe’renotcreatingbias.

DANIELLECLARKJENNIFERCORREA

VPTALENTVPPEOPLEOPERATIONS

EBAYEBAY

OrganizationalDNAshapes

everything.Itdefinespurpose,setspriorities,andanchors

strategy.Whenit’sclearandaligned,atransformation

hasdirection,pace,andstayingpower.

Ofcourse,AIdoesn’tinherentlyimpactthisDNA.“AIwon’t

changewhoweareorwhat

wedo,”leadersineveryindustrytoldus.“Itjustchangesthehow.”

Yetfewhavebeenabletoarticulatethathow.ThisshouldbethehighestAIpriority.CompaniesthatuseAI

tosupportthecorecomponentsoftheirDNA—includingpurpose,values,brand,andstrategy—will

11

createaclearroadmapthatdrivesemployeeengagement.

YOURORGANIZATION’SDNAALIGNINGAIWITHPURPOSEANDVALUES

Whatleaderscando

EmbedAIintoorganizationalDNA

01

DefineaclearAIphilosophy

ProphethasfoundthatwhenleadersstartbyaligningonwhatAImeansforanorganization—technically

andculturally—thefasteritcanmoveforward.

ClarifyAI’sroleingrowthand

employeeimpactandbeexplicitaboutwherehumanjudgementstaysessential.Oncethevisionisset,pilotacrossfunctionsinwaysthatremaintetheredtostrategy,brand,andpurpose,evenasthetechnologykeepsevolving.

02

AnchorAIinpurpose

WhenAIsupportswhatyourorganizationstandsfor,it

becomeseasiertotrust.

Showhowitenablespurpose-

drivenoutcomes—frombetter

customerexperiencestostrongersustainabilityandsocialimpact.

Themoreemployeesseethatconnection,themorelikelytheyaretoengage.

03

PositionAIasavaluesamplifier

UseAItobringcompanyvaluestolife.Ifinnovationiscore,makesureteamscanuseAItoprototypefasterorideatemorefreely.

WhenemployeesseehowAIhelps

themliveoutthevaluesthatmatter,adoptionbecomesasharedmission—notjustamandate.

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI12

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI13

YOURORGANIZATION’SDNAALIGNINGAIWITHPURPOSEANDVALUES

NextstepsforCEOs

NextstepsforCHROs

Defineenterprise-wideAIprinciplesgroundedintheorganization’spurpose.

Leadtheculturalchangeby

engagingemployeesinco-

creatingtheAIvision.

RepositionAIasadriverof

Buildtrustandtransparency

valuesandpurpose,showinghowitdirectlysupports

byinvitingfeedbackand

surfacingusecasesacross

strategicgoals.

Communicateconsistently.Shareupdateswith

stakeholdersonprogress,

impact,andlessonslearned.

theorganization.

EDITMEDY

YOURORGANIZATION’SDNAALIGNINGAIWITHPURPOSEANDVALUES

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI14

Duolingo’s

AIMisalignment

AIinActionMovesMade&LessonsLearned

WhenDuolingoannounceditwouldreplacecontractemployeeswithAI,theswiftbacklashshowedhoweasilytechcanclash

withbrandpurpose.Themoverevealedamisalignmentwiththebrand’spurposeofmakinglanguagelearningauthentic,fun,andaccessible.ThispromptedareversalfromtheCEOandservedasaclearreminder:AIshouldamplifyyourvalues—notcompromisethem.LeadersmustgroundAIdecisionsinpurpose,notjust

efficiencygains.

(Inc.,May2025)

YourOrganization’sMind

ScaleSkills

forWhat’sNext

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI15

YOURORGANIZATION’SMINDSCALESKILLSFORWHAT’SNEXT

TheMindofanorganizationreflectsitscollectiveintelligence—

howitidentifies,develops,anddeploystheskillsand

Strategicworkforceplanninginvolvesassessingwhat

workhastobedoneonlybyhumans,whatworkishumansplusAIorchatbot,andwhatcanbeautomated.

capabilitiesneededtotransform.AIwilldramaticallyenhanceanorganization’sabilitytoproactivelyplanworkforcesandmanageskillsatscale.Previously,theseinitiativestookvastamountsofbrainpower,know-how,andtime.WithAIacceleratingthepaceofchange,thepressureisontoevolvetalentstrategiesbeyondtoday’sneedsandtowardtomorrow’spotential.

SVP,TALENTMANAGEMENT,CAPABILITIESANDCULTURE,EXPEDIAGROUP

JAISONWILLIAMS

ForCEOsandCHROs,thisisacalltoaction:worktogethertoembedAIintohowyoudevelopandmanagetalenttofuellong-termgrowth,notjustshort-termneeds.

AIdemandsnewcapabilities,skillsandmindsetsfornearlyevery

employee.LeadersweintervieweduniversallysaidtheirorganizationisexperimentingwithAItools,yettheyhavespentlesstimesystematicallypreparingtheirworkforcetoevolve.

Leadersmustrethinktheirtalent

strategiestoteachpeopleto

embraceAI.Aretheyattractingtherightpeople?Adequatelypreparingcurrentemployees?Creating

spaceforregularAIlearningand

application?Fosteringpsychologicalsafetytosupportcontinualchange?

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI17

YOURORGANIZATION’SMINDSCALESKILLSFORWHAT’SNEXT

millennial

Capitalizeon

motivation

Ourresearchfoundpeople30–45areleadingin

AIadoption,outpacingevenGenZ.Manyhold

leadershiproles,makingthemidealearlyadopters.WithGenZpoisedtofollow,nearlytwo-thirdsof

employeeswillsoonexpectAIeffectivenessatworktobeonparwiththeirconsumerexperiences.

(Prophet,TheRiseoftheAI-PoweredConsumer,2024)

YOURORGANIZATION’SMINDSCALESKILLSFORWHAT’SNEXT

Whatleaderscando

Rethinkingskills,roles,andreadiness

03

01

02

WithournewHCM,youcansay“I’minOperationsand

Rewireyourtalentmodelforagility

Activateinternalchampions

IdentifyAI“superusers”tomentor

AIistransformingthedefinitionofa“job”.Rigidhierarchiesandstaticcareerpathswon’tkeeppace.

BuildAIfluencyintothetalentlifecycle

IwanttobeinSales.Itwill

peers,modeladoption,andshare

AIfluencywillsoonbeabaseline

showyoutherequisiteskillstobridgethatgap.Thatisthenewworldorder…employeeshavealwaysyearnedfora

wins.Supportingmiddlemanagers,inparticular,willhelpequipthemtoactastranslatorsofAIstrategy,bridgingtop-downandgrassrootsefforts.

expectation—notabonusskill—

Organizationsmustshifttowardsa

especiallyasMillennialsandGenZ

skills-basedmodelthatempowers

employeesbringhighexpectations

talenttomovemorefluidlyacross

fromtheirpersonaluseofGenAI.

roles,projects,andbusinessneeds.AI-poweredplatformssurface

roadmaporaskillsdefinition,andIdon’tthinkwe’ve[HR]beenverygoodatthat.

Tomeetthismoment,leadersmust

personalizedgrowthopportunities

andhighlighttheskillsrequired.By

prioritizingcareeragility—where

createconditionsforscalablelearning.TheycanstartbyembeddinglearningintoeverydaytoolslikeMicrosoftVivaandSlack,andlayeringinexternal

employeesgrowbyexpanding

capabilities,notjustclimbingthe

STEPHANIEFEHR

CHIEFPEOPLEOFFICER,UNITEDHEALTHCARE

ladder—companiesbecomelearning-led,future-ready,andresilient.

trainingorAIbootcamps,ortailoredtrainingcoursestomeetemployeeswheretheyare.Thishelpsemployees

growwithtechnologyandnotfeelleftbehind.

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI18

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI19

YOURORGANIZATION’SMINDSCALESKILLSFORWHAT’SNEXT

NextstepsforCEOs

NextstepsforCHROs

ChampionAIlearningas

abusinesspriority—notjustatechinitiative.

Investincompany-wideupskillingandrewardearlyadopterswho

accelerateimpact.

Publiclyempowerandcelebrateleaders(andemergingleaders)whodriveAIprogress,tosignalsupportfromthetop.

IdentifyinternalAIsuperusers

andbuildmomentumthrough

incentiveprograms.

DesignAIlearningpathways—

frombasicliteracytoadvanced

capability—tailoredbyroleand

function.

Equipandexpectleadersand

managerstosupportemployees

throughAI-enabledchange,

focusingoncoaching,empathy,

andconnection.

IRMYGANIZATION’SMINDSCALESKILLSFORWHAT’SNEXT

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI20

Johnson&Johnson’s

AIUpskillingPush

AIinActionMovesMade&LessonsLearned

Johnson&JohnsonisscalingAIfluencyacrosstheenterprise

withstructured,role-specifictraining.Over56,000employees

havecompletedtherequiredgenerativeAImodules—focusedonpromptengineeringandsummarization—ensuringteamsfrom

R&DtocomplianceareequippedtouseAImeaningfullyintheirworkandreinforcingthatbuildingAIcapabilityatscalestartswithintentional,workforce-widelearning.

(BusinessInsider,March2025)

YourOrganization’sBody

RedesignHow

WorkGetsDone

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI21

YOURORGANIZATION’SBODYREDESIGNHOWWORKGETSDONE

We’vetakenour[AI]talentandputitrightalongsideour

business,insteadoftheITorganization.Forexample,inour

governmentprogramsorg,theAIteamsitsrightalongsidethetechnicalassistanttothechiefmarketingofficer.Whenever

ideationhappens,theygrabthatideaandsay,whynotuseAItosolvethis?Sotheygetrightatthepointofintake.

EDHAWKINS

SVP,CONSUMERENGAGEMENTPLATFORM,UNITEDHEALTHCARE

TheBodyrepresentsthesystems,structures,andprocessesthat

powerday-to-dayoperations.It’s

whatdrivesstrategyintoaction—

andhowchangebecomesscalable.AIisreshapinghoworganizationsoperate,improvingefficiencyandunlockingnewwaystostrategize,collaborate,anddeliver.

AIisn’tjustatool.It’sinfrastructure.LeadersweinterviewedoftensaidthisiswheretheirAIeffortsbegan—enhancingworkflows,increasing

agility,andtestingadaptivewaysofworking.Insectorsliketech,whereAIisalreadyembeddedatscale,it’sdrivingfasterdecisionsandmorefluidroles.

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI22

PROPHETHUMAN-CENTEREDAI23

YOURORGANIZATION’SBODYREDESIGNHOWWORKGETSDONE

Whatleaderscando

ActivatingAIintheBody

01

Optimizeworkflowsandteamcollaboration

78%ofsurveyrespondentsfromourresearch,TheRiseoftheAI-PoweredConsumer,saysAIimproveslivesbyautomatingtaskslikescheduling,

note-taking,anddataentry.

Butit’snotjustaboutautomation.Therealvalueliesinhowtheautomationenhanceshowteamsworktogether.

02

RedesignorganizationalstructurestosupportAI-nativework

RigidhierarchieslimitAI’spotential.

Moreflexible,cross-functionalteamsunlockbetteruseofshareddata,fasterdecisions,andreal-timeadoption.

Co-locatetalent,byputtingAItalentwheredecisionshappen—inside

businessunits,notjustIT—toensureAIfuelsrealbusinessoutcomes.

Andbuildforagility,droppingstaticjobdescriptionsinfavorofproject-basedresourcing.

03

UseAItoenhance,notreplace,decision-making

AIcanspotpatterns,runsimulations,andpredictoutcomes,butleadersstillprovidethecontextandjudgment.

HarnessAItostayahead—anticipatingdisruption,modelmarketswings,

andtalentshifts—whileensuringcriticaldecisionsremainguidedbyhumaninsight.

LetAIinformdecisions—notown

them.Leadersremainaccountable,especiallyonissuesinvolvingethics,people,orbrandtrust.

04

EstablishstrongAIgovernance

With75%ofglobalknowledgeworkersalreadyusingAIdaily,guardrails

mattermorethanever.

Setclearpolicieswithaccessible

usageguidelinesthatexplainthehowandwhy.Andauditforbiasandtrust.Regularlyreviewsystemsforfairness,transparency,andsecurity,meetingHR’sethicalconcernsandCEO-levelriskexpectations.

Ourpurposeandvisionreflectwhowe

areasalearningorganization.AIwillhavequitearoleinthat,enablingustolearn

morequickly,butweneedtomakesurewegovernAIappropriatelyandwatchoutforthepitfalls.

CAROLINEANDREWS

CHIEFCUSTOMERANDPEOPLEOFFICER,

INTERNATIONALAIRLINESGROUP(IAG)CARGO

HUMAN-CENTEREDAI