Latest Learning Out Loud

The choice between a fractional CTO and a full-time CTO is one of the most consequential hiring decisions a growing business makes. Get it right and you accelerate — the right leader sets your technical direction, builds the team to execute it, and keeps your AI roadmap on track.

In 2026, the most useful career question is no longer “Will AI take my job?” It is: what tasks can AI do alone, what tasks can I do better with AI, and what work should remain uniquely human?

“AI engineer”, “data scientist”, “ML engineer” — if these titles all sound like the same job described three different ways, you’re not alone.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. With AI avatars conducting first-round interviews, algorithms predicting candidate success, and automated sourcing becoming the norm, it is easy to assume that the role of HR and recruitment is shrinking.

AI is no longer a “someday” topic for retailers. It’s here in everyday conversations – from personalisation and loyalty to demand forecasting and workforce planning. Most retailers I speak with know this. They’re reading the reports, talking to vendors, and running small pilots.

Most AI rollouts don’t fail because the tool is bad. They stall because the organisation never builds an adoption system around it. People try it once, feel unsure, worry about risk, then default back to “the way we’ve always done it” the minute things get busy. If you’re hearing “we trained everyone” but you’re not seeing behaviour change, this is why.