269. The HR Words Quietly Building a Dehumanized Future feat. Joshua Berry
From Bringing the Human back to Human Resources by Traci Chernoff
March 24, 2026 · 34 min
About this episode
This episode discusses how the language used in HR impacts workplace culture and the future of AI, featuring insights from Joshua Berry.
This episode is about how the language we use to describe people at work is quietly shaping both workplace culture and the future of AI. Joshua Berry, author, speaker, and Director of Iconic, brought this conversation to the podcast last year and it has only gotten more relevant since. The business terms you've been using on autopilot (headcount, right-size, prospects) aren't neutral. They're belief systems, and they're being baked into the AI your organization will rely on tomorrow. What We Cover: Words are a symptom of your unconscious beliefs about people "Headcount" isn't neutral, and neither is "right-size" Your internal messages are actively training the next generation of AI We're at an inflection point where conscious language can reshape what AI believes about human value What HR professionals actually need to hear about AI and their jobs The custom ChatGPT setting that flags dehumanizing language before you hit send Connect with Joshua Berry: LinkedIn | Iconic Website | JoshuaBerry.com Connect with Traci here: <a href=" HRTraci / Traci Chernoff (00:00.622) Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast. Thank you so much for being here for another week…
People in this episode
Host: Traci Chernoff
Guest: Joshua Berry
Topics covered
- workplace culture
- AI language
- dehumanization
- HR language
- belief systems
- conscious language
Keywords
- dehumanizing language
- AI
- HR
- workplace culture
- belief systems
- headcount
- right-size
- conscious language
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Iconic, LinkedIn, JoshuaBerry.com
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