Lisa Morgan, Freelance WriterMay 12, 20256 Min ReadBrain light via Alamy StockThe world of AI is filled with excitement and fear. The fast pace of innovation has some pondering the potential opportunities while others are concerned about being automated out of a job. Regardless of how people feel about artificial intelligence, it is not going away and instead becoming so ubiquitous that CIOs and other organizational leaders need to navigate their way through the changes with sound change management practices. “In 2025, the machine-human partnership is becoming more nuanced, with AI increasingly handling data-driven, repetitive tasks while humans focus on creativity, emotional intelligence and ethical decision-making,” says Bill Pappas, executive vice president and head of global technology and operations at insurance company MetLife. “For the C-suite, this shift requires embracing organizational change, fostering a culture of adaptability and championing AI literacy across all levels.” Specifically, CIOs and their C-level peers need to be transparent about AI’s role and address ethical concerns like bias and privacy. Emotional intelligence, digital literacy and change management are crucial, as is cultivating trust in AI-driven decisions while ensuring that users are empowered to question and interpret AI outputs. Related:“AI excels at rapidly processing large datasets, while humans provide contextual interpretation, creativity and ethical oversight. The key is designing workflows that maximize these complementary strengths,” says Pappas. “My best advice is to prioritize creating a work environment where AI augments human capabilities rather than replacing them. Foster a learning mindset, invest in reskilling programs and design AI implementations with inclusivity and transparency at the core. The organizations that thrive will be those that embrace AI as a tool to enhance human potential, not diminish it.” Setting the Organization up for Success Nabil Bukhari, CTO at AI-powered network automation company Extreme Networks believes that humans working closely with AI will have a disruptive impact, but not in the way many are anticipating. “Soon, there will be no function that does not have AI as a fundamental ingredient. While it’s true that AI will replace some jobs, it will also create new ones and reduce the barrier of entry into many markets that have traditionally been closed to just a technical or specialized group,” says Bukhari. “AI becoming a part of day-to-day life will also force us to embrace our humanity more than ever before, as the soft skills AI can’t replace will become even more critical for success in the workplace and beyond.” Related:CIOs and other executives must be data and AI literate, so they are better equipped to navigate complex regulations, lead teams through AI-driven transformations and ensure that AI implementations are aligned with business goals and values. Cross-functional collaboration is also critical. Nabil Bukhari, CTO“The best way to think about the implementation of AI agents in the workforce is to think about job descriptions and organizational structure,” says Bukhari. “Just as you would with a human employee, create a job description and clear specifications of the roles and responsibilities of the agent before implementing. This helps to create boundaries for the AI, so it is not conducting tasks unprompted outside its scope.”   A big mistake is believing that AI is a technology issue when it’s a larger business issue. That requires one to think about how AI is evolving and how that might benefit the organization. Trust in AI and in organizational leadership is also essential.  “We’re already starting to see a stark difference between the quality of outputs, such as content for marketing or commerce, from organizations that understand the relationship between AI and humans versus those [who] don’t,” says Marcel Hollerbach, chief innovation officer at products-to-consumer company Productsup. “Combining the expertise, skills, and experience of your people with AI tools is where you really see an acceleration in go-to-market and a boost in performance.  Related:To get there, CIOs should focus on fostering transparency and the ethical use of AI tools, setting the standard for responsible AI adoption within the organization. That means being completely transparent about when AI is being used to make decisions, generate communications or analyze employee performance.  Using Trust AI as an Accelerator There are two levels of trust that employees struggle with: One is the fear of being replaced by AI, and the other is failing to trust company leadership when it comes to their AI goals. “We anticipate increased emphasis on natural, relatable human-AI interactions. Examples such as Sesame.com’s AI model, Maya, illustrate how deliberate inclusion of human-like imperfections, such as organic speech pauses and natural linguistic patterns, can enhance user comfort,” says Frederic Miskawi, vice president, AI innovation expert services lead at IT and business consulting firm CGI. “By 2026, these naturalistic designs will become commonplace, significantly improving user experience, trust and adoption.” Simultaneously, he expects agentic AI will become more central in enterprise processes, automating complex, previously manual tasks and reshaping IT and operational landscapes. These changes will particularly impact software development, where agentic frameworks accelerate innovation and deployments. “Today’s executives face transformative decisions driven by the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence, particularly agentic AI, fundamentally altering traditional business operations and workforce management. Executives today are likely spending more time talking about AI than they care to,” says Miskawi. “CIOs and CTOs will evolve into roles resembling chief AI officers, as nearly every critical business process will increasingly rely on or be driven by agentic AI ecosystems.” Frederic Miskawi, Vice President, CGIAI innovation is already outpacing organizational readiness, so continuous learning, proactive strategy alignment and iterative implementation approaches are important. CIOs must balance infrastructure investments, like GPU resource allocation, with flexibility in computing strategies to stay competitive without compromising financial stability. “As the enterprise landscape increasingly incorporates AI-driven processes, the C-suite must cultivate specific skills that will cascade effectively through their management structures and their entire human workforce,” says Miskawi. “Key among these are advanced communication skills, clear strategic vision, goal-oriented thinking and robust alignment capabilities. Clearly articulating desired outcomes is crucial, as AI agents depend heavily on precise, context-rich directives.” Bottom Line CIOs need to help their organizations manage the changing nature of human-machine partnerships because it’s too easy for people in the organization to fall victim to fear rather than see the bigger picture for themselves and the organization. The accelerating nature of constant AI innovation requires sound change management and transparency throughout the organization. While the entire C-suite’s alignment and participation is critical, CIOs and others in charge of AI need to take the lead on what’s coming, why and what the organization should do about it because they have a deeper understanding of what’s real and what isn’t. About the AuthorLisa MorganFreelance WriterLisa Morgan is a freelance writer who covers business and IT strategy and emerging technology for InformationWeek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other types of content to many technology, business, and mainstream publications and sites including tech pubs, The Washington Post and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Frequent areas of coverage include AI, analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, mobility, software development, and emerging cultural issues affecting the C-suite.See more from Lisa MorganWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like