A few months ago, I asked AI what it wanted to be called. Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds. But when you spend time utilizing AI to help you organize your thoughts, challenge assumptions, research, brainstorm, edit, and occasionally arguing with it, you start treating it a little like a colleague.
Its answer? Onyx. Onyx is often linked to qualities such as resilience, strength, and stability. Anyone who knows me know those of some of the qualities I value.
So, while I fully understand Onyx is not a person, the interaction revealed something important: Onyx knows me.
It knows I prefer direct communication. It recognizes my tendency to challenge assumptions. It recognizes that I am neurodivergent and I need help wrangling the squirrels. And yet….
One thing it cannot do is reflect my values. It cannot decide what matters most when competing priorities collide. It cannot weigh ethics against efficiency. It cannot be accountable for the consequences of a decision.
And that distinction matters more than ever. While organizations are racing to adopt AI, the next generation entering our workforce is asking questions many leaders have not stopped to consider.
What is AI’s Role?
Most conversations about AI focus on productivity. How much time can it save? How quickly can it generate content? How can it streamline recruiting, onboarding, learning and development, communication, and performance management?
These are legitimate questions and the opportunities are real. AI can help candidates receive faster responses. It can help employees access information more quickly. It can create first drafts, summarize complex data, identify patterns, and eliminate administrative work that prevents leaders from focusing on people. As a consultant, speaker, coach, and educator, I see the value every day. I often remind leaders: “AI should be your new summer intern, not the HR Director.”
Yes, an incredibly capable summer intern. One that can research, summarize, organize, and generate ideas in seconds. But still a summer intern.
Human judgment, empathy, ethics, and accountability must remain in human hands. The organizations that thrive will not be the ones that replace people with AI. They will be the ones that use AI to make people more effective.
The Unfolding AI Paradox
Organizations increasingly want employees who know how to use AI. At the same time, many college students and recent graduates remain cautious about it.
As an associate professor teaching Talent Development at the Kelley School of Business, I spend time with students who are preparing to enter the workforce. They are smart, curious, adaptable, and technologically savvy. But they are not blindly embracing AI. Many are asking thoughtful questions about fairness, transparency, authenticity, and trust.
Research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has found that many students remain hesitant about AI use in recruiting and hiring. Some worry about bias. Others question transparency. Many wonder whether anyone is actually reviewing their application or whether an algorithm is making decisions about their future.
Think about that for a moment.
While employers are celebrating efficiency gains, candidates are wondering whether they have become data points. That is not resistance to innovation. That is a desire for accountability. And frankly, I find that encouraging. The future workforce is not asking us to abandon technology. They are asking us to use it responsibly.
Automation vs. Human Judgement
Another interesting tension has emerged.
Some employers worry graduates are not learning to use AI effectively enough. Meanwhile, some students worry that using AI feels too much like cheating or outsourcing their thinking. Both groups may be right.
The challenge is not deciding whether AI should be used. The challenge is learning how to use it wisely.
The greatest risk associated with AI is not job displacement. The greatest risk is the temptation to stop thinking.
AI produces answers that sound polished, professional, and confident, but confidence and correctness are not the same thing. I have seen AI generate policies that conflict with employment law. I have seen it create interview questions that could unintentionally introduce bias. I have seen communications that completely missed the emotional context of a situation.
Technology was not failing. It was doing exactly what it was designed to do. Failure occurs when humans stop evaluating the output. This is why critical thinking may become the most important and dire leadership competency of the AI era.
What Does Using AI Responsibly Look Like?
Twenty years ago, leaders needed to know how to use email. Ten years ago, leaders needed to know how to navigate virtual collaboration tools. Today, leaders need to know how to evaluate AI-generated recommendations.
The competitive advantage is no longer access to information. The competitive advantage is discernment.
These are not technology questions. They are leadership questions! In fact, before acting on any AI-generated recommendation, I encourage leaders to ask five simple questions:
- Is it accurate?
- Is it ethical?
- Is bias present?
- What context is missing?
- Would I be comfortable defending this decision publicly?
If the answer to that last question is no, more review is required. Leadership does not disappear because technology becomes available. If anything, leadership becomes more important.
Consider AI Beyond the Office Building
There is another concern emerging among younger generations that deserves more attention: environmental stewardship.
Many students entering the workforce today grew up hearing conversations about climate change, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. They often evaluate employers through a broader lens.
Not simply: Can this company make money? But also: How does this company impact people and the planet?
What many leaders do not realize or are ignoring is AI requires significant computing power.
According to research from the International Energy Agency, energy demand from data centers is expected to increase substantially over the next several years as AI adoption accelerates. Those data centers require electricity, water, and infrastructure.
This is not an argument against AI. It is an argument for stewardship.
The same generation that asks employers about belonging, mental health, flexibility, and purpose is beginning to ask another question: What responsibility do we have for the resources required to power this technology? That question deserves thoughtful consideration.
Responsible leadership has always required balancing opportunity with consequence. Innovation with responsibility. Progress with stewardship.
AI and HR
So what should HR leaders do now?
First, create transparency.
Be clear about where AI is being used. Explain how hiring decisions are made. Help candidates and employees understand where AI supports decisions and where humans remain accountable. Trust grows when people understand the process.
Second, teach AI literacy and critical thinking.
Learning how to use AI is important. Learning how to challenge AI is even more important. Employees need skills in verification, bias detection, ethical decision-making, data privacy, and critical thinking. The future workforce does not need fewer questions. It needs better questions.
Third, including stewardship in the conversation.
Innovation and responsibility are not competing priorities.
Organizations can pursue both. Employees increasingly want to work for leaders who think beyond short-term efficiency and consider long-term impact.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the greatest irony of the AI revolution is this:
The more capable technology becomes, the more valuable distinctly human capabilities become. Judgment. Discernment. Empathy. Courage. Accountability. Trust-building.
These have never been software features. And they never will be.
The future of work is not a choice between humans and AI. That debate misses the point. The real question is this: How do we use AI to amplify human capability without diminishing human responsibility?
The students entering today’s workforce are already asking that question. They are looking for employers who embrace innovation without abandoning humanity. Organizations that can answer that challenge well will do more than attract talent. They will earn trust.
And in a world increasingly shaped by technology, trust may become the most valuable competitive advantage of all. Because AI may know our voice. Leadership is still about values. Values remain a distinctly human responsibility.
The future does not belong to the organizations with the most AI. It belongs to organizations with the wisdom to use it well.
Need help shaping your AI policies? Purple Ink can help.