Summary
What happens when a CHRO treats AI like a brainstorming wall instead of a threat? In this episode of The WorkOps Podcast, host Jeet Mukherjee sits down with Jason Desentz, Chief Human Resource Officer at Toshiba America, to unpack why AI is an enhancement story, not a replacement story. Jason shares the history lesson behind his optimism, from direct deposit to factory robots to Ford's reversed AI layoffs, then goes inside Toshiba's HR Shark Tank, where cross functional teams built working Copilot agents like Payroll Princess and Time Tamer in 60 days. He also lays out his two goalpost framework for every AI decision and warns about the integration trap that could fragment HR tech stacks all over again. A practical conversation for HR and operations leaders who want to experiment with AI without disrupting the business.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:45 From police academy to CHRO
05:50 Why AI will deepen HR expertise instead of replacing it
08:50 The direct deposit lesson
13:55 Starting small with proof of concept
16:35 Inside Toshiba's HR Shark Tank
20:00 Build, borrow, or bot
21:30 The two goalposts and the integration trap
28:55 FOBO and getting people AI ready
32:55 From curious to cautious

Takeaways

-AI will change how HR work looks, not whether it exists. Like computers, direct deposit, and factory robots before it, it enhances the function and creates new work.

-Start small instead of trying to do everything at once. Pick one proof of concept and give it a full cycle, a year to 18 months, before judging whether it worked.

-Cross functional experimentation multiplies value. Toshiba's HR Shark Tank mixed payroll, field HR, business partners, and L&D to build real -Copilot agents on top of their day jobs.

-Every AI decision has to pass two goalposts: little to zero disruption to the business and a genuine improvement to the employee experience.

-Watch the integration trap. HR spent 15 years consolidating eight systems down to three, and bolting on AI point solutions risks recreating the same fragmentation.

Connect with the Guest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-desentz/
Website: https://www.toshiba.com/

Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Kinfolk, the AI service desk built for HR.

See more at kinfolkhq.com