AI’s Hidden Trap, Top Cybersecurity Projects, Reputation Management, and More

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AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Skill Erosion and the Trap of AI Lock-In

Skill erosion sets the stage for AI lock-in.

Gartner warns that as organizations automate more work with AI, they risk losing the expertise in their workforce to question, improve or fix automated outputs — and make innovation possible. This leads to a phenomenon known as “AI lock-in.” 

AI lock-in occurs when employees stop practicing foundational tasks and become overly reliant on AI systems. Over time, this dependency leaves businesses vulnerable if AI systems fail or deliver poor results, as the workforce may lack the skills to intervene, adapt, or restore quality.

💡 Keep reading: AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Skill Erosion and the Trap of AI Lock-In

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Three Top Cybersecurity Projects to Prioritize

Prioritize cybersecurity projects that reduce organizational risk and increase resilience.

If the expression “May you live in interesting times” describes your role, you may be a security and risk management (SRM) leader. Between resource constraints caused by rapid-fire tariff announcements, pressure to expand your purview and a perpetual need to catch up with the latest cybersecurity threat, your best bet is to prioritize initiatives that align with the organization’s broader objectives.

💡 Keep reading: Three Top Cybersecurity Projects to Prioritize

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Reputation Management Starts Now: Build Trust Before It’s Tested

Be proactive: Safeguard your reputation before a crisis.

Organizational reputation is difficult to define, harder to measure and increasingly shaped by forces both inside and outside the business. Reputation is the collective perception people form based on what they see, hear and experience — not just from the company itself but from everything around it. As communications leaders face rising stakeholder expectations and greater public scrutiny, reputation management demands a more strategic, proactive approach.

💡 Keep reading: Reputation Management Starts Now: Build Trust Before It’s Tested

⚙️ Accelerator for Chief Communications Officers: Achieve your strategic & innovation goals faster with curated research and tools

Succession Planning That Builds the Leaders You Actually Need

Don’t let bad succession planning threaten your leadership continuity.

Succession planning is hard work — as evidenced by the 72% of HR leaders who say they struggle with closing successor capability gaps. And as succession planning falls short, businesses are often left with leaders and managers who lack the agility and vision to support the business as it grows. 

HR business partners (HRBPs) understand the importance of succession all too well, but with frequent challenges disrupting their work, leadership succession initiatives often take a back seat.

💡 Keep reading: Succession Planning That Builds the Leaders You Actually Need

💻 Upcoming webinar: The Top CHRO Priorities for 2026

📣 Meet forward-thinking CHROs and HR leaders: Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo™

Customer Service Technology Must Prioritize Business Requirements

Don’t lose sight of business objectives, especially under the influence of vendor demos.

While the value of technology built to manage customer service and support interactions is undeniable, customer service and support leaders often experience systemic and cultural disconnects that hinder their ability to make informed technology decisions. Combined with the allure of vendor-led sales presentations, it’s all too easy to lose sight of what matters most: how the technology contributes to business objectives.

💡 Keep reading: Customer Service Technology Must Prioritize Business Requirements

🏆 Client stories: Learn how Amazon leveraged Gartner's Value Enhancement Score to gauge and improve the customer experience

Upcoming Webinar | How CMOs Can Develop an AI Strategy for Marketing

Join this complimentary webinar as a Gartner expert shares how to refine your strategic roadmap for GenAI and position marketing as a growth driver.

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How to Rewrite the Future and Win With Agentic AI | Live from Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference

In the Opening Keynote from the 2025 Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference in Las Vegas, Gartner VP Analyst Dan Gottlieb introduces the Great Sales Awakening — a new era where traditional growth bets no longer deliver, and sales leaders must harness agentic AI to chase a brand new revenue productivity frontier. Watch now.

🙌 Thank you to our experts, Arun Chandrasekaran , Fadeen Garricks Davis , Emily Earl , Abhinandan Sood , Jason Bridge , Nicole Greene , Mark Whittle , Alex Chertoff and Dan Gottlieb for contributing to this article.

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