At the time of writing this editorial, I am also grading papers and preparing to close out the semester. I always like ending my courses with lessons learned or key takeaways from the semester for both my students and myself. I ask them what they are taking away from the semester: What did they learn about the field? But most importantly, what did they learn about themselves? One of my biggest takeaways this semester was around AI and the future of our youth.
I have been an early adopter of AI, especially ChatGPT, because of what it made possible for me, as someone who wears multiple professional and personal hats and is always dreaming up big dreams and creative ideas. AI became my thought buddy (not partner): a place to dump my thoughts, refine ideas, and ease the mental load of the mundane tasks, such as rubric creation, writing class announcements, simplifying text, you name it. It freed my cognitive bandwidth so I could redirect my creative energy where it mattered most.
Because of that, I often encouraged my students to use AI as a thought partner (not buddy, although is there really a difference?). After all, my job is to prepare the next generation, and equipping them with relevant tools is part of that responsibility. I was humbled really quickly one day during the semester:
Now this is a story all about how
My life got flipped, turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I reflected and changed my stance on the use of AI in classrooms (Hey, I am still for it, but with caveats.)
Please tell me you said this with your best Will Smith/Fresh Prince of Bel-Air voice, or you sang along (IYKYK).
During office hours, a student was struggling with summarizing large amounts of text into clear, succinct bullet points. He was so impressed with my ability to do it that he asked how I was able to condense his paragraphs so effectively. At the tip of my tongue, I wanted to say, “Just use ChatGPT.” But something in me said: Don’t you dare. Because honestly, I would have been doing him a disservice.
The only reason I can distill text so well is because I have practiced for years. Growing up in the Caribbean, we had to learn how to summarize in our own words large chunks of text (hated this, but here we are with it really paying off). Throughout my entire academic career, I had to build that muscle. I think back to my early years of being intimidated by mentors, unsure of myself as a researcher, the long path to my first publication. I wondered if I would ever “get there,” be that expert or as qualified as some of the best mentors and people in the field. But slowly, through trial and error, step by step, I became the expert I once hoped I could be.
During my dissertation, I heard something on a podcast that stayed with me:
Learning and life is a series of steps. It is better to take one meaningful step and learn than take 100 steps with no foundation. If the foundation isn’t built, life will eventually send you back to Step 2.
What does that have to do with AI, though? So glad you asked: ChatGPT can accelerate us, but it can also skip the steps that make someone a novice today and an expert tomorrow. And if we shortcut the learning, we undermine the very foundation our students need to grow. So this semester, I returned to basics. I sent my students into the field to talk to people, observe, analyze, and most importantly, reflect and apply in a creative, not regurgitated way. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. They learned through a semester of experience.
As I reflected on that, I couldn’t help but wonder: What does this mean for the future of work?
We all see the “AI slop” online, and in our organizations, from senior leaders to the intern, it pretty much follows a copy-and-paste tone, the sameness, the disappearance of the human voice. The uniqueness we each bring is fading from our writing, our communication, our presence, and even at times our interactions with each other. So I found myself thinking deeply about how we, as I-O psychologists, help organizations prepare for the future of work. Lucky for you and I, it turns out, for this winter issue, many of our authors were asking the exact same questions.
Technology Is Accelerating, and So Must Our Judgment
Multiple articles in this issue illuminate a workplace forever shaped by technological advancement but none more clearly than the pieces exploring coaching technology and generative AI. From the review of The Digital Coaching Revolution to the practical guide on integrating AI into job analysis workflows, we are reminded that innovation is moving at a speed our traditional methods never anticipated.
Yet both Dr. Steven Hunt and Derek Burns remind us of something essential, which is that technology expands what’s possible when paired with our expertise. They invite us to lead by designing future-ready organizations grounded in scientific rigor, ethical clarity, and the kind of human judgment that can’t be automated—ever.
At the Same Time, Humanity Is Reasserting Its Place in Our Work
Even as AI reshapes talent systems, another movement is unfolding towards one that brings us back to the essence of being human. We see it in the exploration of emotional intelligence as a leadership precursor long before formal titles are assigned (Barnes). We see it in humor as pedagogy, how laughter builds connection and makes learning stick (Max. Classroom Capacity). We see it in identity, transition, and lived experience, such as the narrative journey from “Cupcakes to Curriculum,” reminding us that who we are shapes how we show up in this field. Across these contributions, one message is clear: Although organizations continue to transform, people will always remain at the center of what is driving this change and can make it successful.
I get it; we are collectively burnt out due to navigating a world that keeps “life-ing.” But the future is calling us to move beyond transactional living, independence, and isolation. It is pulling us back into community with others so that we are able to feel more, notice more, and lead with greater compassion that leans all the way into the depths of our humanity.
While Our Field Is Widening and We Are Better for It
By now, many of you have received your 2026 SIOP acceptances and are planning your trip to New Orleans. This issue offers a preview of the 2026 Consortia, reflecting the sheer breadth of our discipline, from master’s students to doctoral candidates, early career scholars, and organizational practitioners.
Beyond that, we highlight voices from places often missing in our discourse, such as small-island work environments, underrepresented research pathways, and nontraditional journeys into I-O psychology. Whether the voices come from St. Lucia, Italy, Nigeria, Spain, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or right here in the United States, they expand our understanding of what I-O psychology can be. We have grown and expanded as a field where we are breaking down siloes and tapping into our global community of diverse thought, experience, and origin. We can never go wrong with such diversity, as it is the driving force beyond innovation and creativity, thus making our field stronger.
So Rising to the Future Means Rising Together
As you read these contributions, I hope you feel what I felt: momentum, possibility, collective readiness, or maybe just that “new year, new season, let’s conquer the world” energy that always seems to find me at the start of a new year. Speaking of trying new things, we’re doing that here at TIP as well. This issue marks the launch of two new series that reflect the very future-focused spirit we’ve been talking about.
The first, I-O at Work, is a collaboration with SIOP committees to spotlight the actual roles I-O psychologists hold across industries. Instead of focusing on individuals’ stories, this series highlights the work itself in terms of how I-O is practiced across industries/work environments and the many pathways our field opens up. We’re kicking it off with a partnership with the Military and Veterans Inclusion Committee, who offer a fascinating first look at I-O psychology within the U.S. Navy and the Talent Management Center of Excellence.
The second is a more reflective column that is one rooted in discipline and community, created specifically by Bharati Belwalker to explore various topics over the course of the year and bring TIP readers along for the conversation.
Anyway, beyond the excitement, I leave you with a simple question for all of us: researchers, practitioners, teachers, students, and leaders:
Are we rising to meet this moment?
Are we ready for what the future will demand of us?
Here’s to deeper questions, bolder innovations, and more human-centered science and workplaces moving forward.
Happy New Year, y’all, and I’ll catch you on the next one.
Warmly,
Dr. Williams
