One of the most defining decisions in front of HR leaders right now is how to accelerate automation and AI while protecting the human core of work.

It’s a predicament that Katie Watson, CHRO at Western Digital (WD), is no stranger to and for her, the response must begin with intentionality.

During her session at UNLEASH America 2026 in Las Vegas, Watson highlighted the current disparity of focus between technology and people – pointing out that 32,000 people were simultaneously in San Jose, at Nvidia’s GTC event to talk tech.

“I can assure you, those 32,000 at GTC are rightly focused on advancing technology. They are not thinking about the employee perspective in the way this community is. They are not thinking about what needs to stay human – and that’s exactly the role of HR,” she told delegates.

As a leading manufacturer of hard disk drives that store the world’s data, WD is heavily embedded within the technology infrastructure that facilitates AI. But Watson insists that the real strategic challenge isn’t technological, it’s human.

Sitting down for an exclusive interview with UNLEASH, Watson says HR’s responsibility is to lead the way forward in the era of AI automation.

Ask not what we can automate, but what we must keep human

Katie Watson, CHRO at Western Digital

WD is one of a host of organizations operating ‘lights out’ manufacturing – facilities where automated robots work 24/7 – most notably in Thailand, which the World Economic Forum designated a Global Lighthouse Network site.

“There are no employees in parts of the factory. They are literally just having machines do the work,” Watson explains.

“What was exciting about that is it means that people are still doing work, they’re just doing higher level work.”

She adds that the project was employee-led, with engineers from the organization’s operations in Japan designing the robots.

Her role, having joined WD as CHRO 18 months ago, is to drive the reskilling and upskilling of employees so they can flourish alongside and augment its automated operations.

The reality is that not all employees will succeed in such an environment and some will depart, Watson says, but most want to learn “if you give them the time and the ownership.”

This factor of agency was critical to the project’s success, Watson states: “Ultimately, over 50% of the workforce was upskilled, and they really feel deep pride.

This is a market where expanding access to advanced opportunities can make a real difference. So, I think we really helped support a whole community, not just the company.”

Leadership has to become intentional to spearhead the future of work

Watson also acknowledges that the trepidation felt among employees during the rise of AI, telling UINLEASH that “it would be naive of us to say that people are not fearful” about losing their jobs.

But, she explains, the responsibility on HR leaders is to “decide what stays human” when designing and spearheading the new world of work.

This is where intentionality in leadership comes to the fore – from defining new core values of the organization following its strategic separation into Western Digital and Sandisk in February last year, to understanding “what matters most from an employee standpoint.”

“In this moment, we have to say that leadership is very different,” Watson says.

Leadership is not about certainty, it’s not about prediction: it is about intention. It’s about each of us in our HR roles deciding what do we want for our workers and for the work.

“I do genuinely believe that for those who lean in, it will be a powerful opportunity.”

As HR and tech move ever closer together, Watson also highlights the changing relationship between the CHRO and the CTO – a theme evident during UNLEASH America this year.

Although she jokes that she feels they have become “joined at the hip”, Watson also says the two roles are “a perfect complement to one another.”

“He’s there thinking about the technology side, and not just what agents to deploy, but the core infrastructure. Then I’m constantly there saying, but what about the people side?” she explains.

The importance of this relationship cannot be understated in the era of AI. While HR have always been “more at the forefront of having to help directly” with people-related issues, Watson also points out that “we’re really not just shaping the workers, but the work itself.”

During her UNLEASH America session, Watson laid out WD’s four-step framework for intentional leadership to her HR peers:

• Decide what must stay human
• Decide what outcomes truly matter
• Design how AI supports the work
• Develop people to adapt

This, she explains, can ensure HR continues to lead the transformation of work and the workforce by placing deliberate decisions into every facet of the organization: “It is our unique moment to say that we are in the driver’s seat and that we are the ones that need to ask what stays human,” she concludes.