October 2025
The AI Real Threat Isn’t the Machine… It’s Losing Your Humanity
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What was the first prompt you ever asked to your favorite AI Large Language Model?
My first was to ChatGPT: “So… are you like the computer from War Games?” Another of my earliest prompts was to create a poem about my pet beagle, Scout, winning a basketball game. Ah, the memories!
Back then, AI felt like a toy; a clever novelty that made us laugh. Today, it’s a tool that’s reshaping the world… how we think, work, and lead. And for many professionals, that shift feels both exciting and unsettling. Which raises an important question: how do we make sure we’re using AI as a career accelerator, not letting it quietly become a threat?
| | President & CEO, Turknett Leadership Group | |
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ROB TURKNETT
Many people fear being replaced by AI. From your vantage point, how can professionals position themselves to stay relevant and indispensable as AI tools evolve?
In my view, the fear of being replaced by AI is really rooted not only in economic uncertainty but also in the uneven distribution of technological benefits, which has left many wondering whether progress will truly lead to greater prosperity for all. In his 1930 essay “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren”, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that technological progress and capital accumulation would make societies so productive that scarcity would largely disappear within 100 years (5 years from now). We have indeed seen productivity rise with industrial automation, but the fruits of that productivity have not been shared as broadly as he imagined they could. In fact, the prospect of AI replacing jobs offers the potential for immense good—if, and only if, we seize the opportunity to reimagine our economy and push our political leaders to ensure that the extraordinary productivity gains brought by AI are shared broadly, not hoarded by a few. The real source of fear is not AI itself, but our current social contract in which survival depends on having a job. This is the elephant in the room. As AI lifts the burden of necessary labor, we must address the deeper question of how we organize society so that everyone can benefit from technological progress, embracing new possibilities for contribution, fulfillment, dignity, and shared prosperity beyond mere employment.
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Reskilling in the Age of AI
Leila Doumi, Sagar Goel, Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic, and Raffaella Sadun | Harvard Business Review
In the coming decades, as the pace of technological change continues to increase, millions of workers may need to be not just upskilled but reskilled-a profoundly complex societal challenge that will sometimes require workers to both acquire new skills and change occupations entirely. Companies have a critical role to play in addressing this challenge, but to date few have taken it seriously. To learn more about what their role will entail, the authors-members of a collaboration between the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard’s Digital Reskilling Lab and the Boston Consulting Group’s Henderson Institute-interviewed leaders at some 40 organizations around the world that are investing in large-scale reskilling programs. The authors argue that companies will need to understand and embrace these shifts if they hope to succeed in adapting dynamically to the rapidly evolving new era of automation and AI.
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We are thrilled to announce our next live virtual event!
Learn from another leading voice in corporate culture about servant leadership enabling team members’ alignment with a strong culture, its values, and extraordinary customer service. Don’t miss the chance to explore how strong purpose-driven leadership can yield enduring results in your organization.
Listen in as our speaker shares her unique experiences and insights.
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Facilitated by Anne Quiello, M.S., PCC
Senior Consultant & Host of Women in Leadership
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Titan 100 Day of Service
Our President & CEO, Tim Huff, joined the Titan 100 Day of Service with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation, gaining an inside look at the grit, teamwork, and rigorous training it takes to keep Atlanta safe.
This one-of-a-kind experience highlighted the power of bridging leadership and service - learning directly from those who protect and serve our community every day.
A heartfelt thank you to the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation and Titan 100 for creating an unforgettable day of impact and connection.
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Vicki Abelson at Leadership Buckhead
Our VP of Leadership Development, Vicki Abelson, recently facilitated an engaging DISC workshop for Leadership Buckhead - helping participants better understand their communication styles, strengthen team dynamics, and lead with greater self-awareness.
We’re proud to partner with organizations that invest in growing strong, emotionally intelligent leaders.
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Women of Influence Awards 2025
We at Turknett Leadership Group had the privilege of attending the 2025 Women of Influence Awards this month - a powerful celebration of exceptional women who are shaping industries, driving change, and making a lasting impact on our communities.
Being in a room full of trailblazers and innovators was a reminder of the strength that comes from lifting one another up and creating space for more voices at the table.
Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees!
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The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now
In The Algorithm, Emmy‑award winning Wall Street Journal and Guardian contributor Hilke Schellmann delivers a shocking and illuminating exposé on one of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time: how AI has quietly, and mostly out of sight, taken over the world of work.
Schellmann takes readers on a journalistic detective story, meeting job applicants and employees who have been subjected to these technologies, playing AI-based video games that companies use for hiring, and investigating algorithms that scan our online activity to construct personality profiles— including if we are prone to self -harm. She convinces whistleblowers to share results of faulty AI -tools, and tests algorithms that analyze job candidates’ facial expressions and tools that predict from our voices if we are anxious or depressed. Schellmann finds employees whose every keystrokes were tracked and AI that analyzes group discussions or even predicts when someone may leave a company. Her reporting reveals in detail how much employers already know about us and how little we know about the technologies that are used on us.
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God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning
For most of human history the world was a magical and enchanted place ruled by forces beyond our understanding. The rise of science and Descartes's division of mind from world made materialism our ruling paradigm, in the process asking whether our own consciousness—i.e., souls—might be illusions. Now the inexorable rise of technology, with artificial intelligences that surpass our comprehension and control, and the spread of digital metaphors for self-understanding, the core questions of existence—identity, knowledge, the very nature and purpose of life itself—urgently require rethinking.
Meghan O'Gieblyn tackles this challenge with philosophical rigor, intellectual reach, essayistic verve, refreshing originality, and an ironic sense of contradiction. She draws deeply and sometimes humorously from her own personal experience as a formerly religious believer still haunted by questions of faith, and she serves as the best possible guide to navigating the territory we are all entering.
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Tim Huff
President & CEO, TLG
thuff@turknett.com
(770) 270-1723
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