Reasoning
Major HR conferences (SHRM Annual Conference, HR Tech, etc.) have increasingly featured AI integration themes since 2023, with 2024-2025 showing a shift from "AI will displace workers" narratives toward "augmentation and reskilling" framings as actual labor market displacement has been modest despite AI adoption (BLS data shows unemployment at 3.9-4.2% through 2024, with no significant job losses attributable to AI). By 2026, with 18+ months of additional implementation data and likely continued labor market resilience, conference organizers will capitalize on this narrative shift as a counterpoint to earlier anxieties, making it a high-probability keynote theme. However, this assumes continued labor market strength and absence of major AI-driven disruptions in the interim.Key uncertainty
Whether a significant economic downturn or unexpected wave of AI-driven layoffs occurs in 2025, which would reframe the narrative back toward displacement concerns and reduce keynote focus on the "not displacing as expected" angle.