AI Upskilling at Scale: Bank of America’s Bernard Hampton

AI Upskilling at Scale: Bank of America’s Bernard Hampton

Author: MIT Sloan Management Review June 22, 2026 Duration: 29:39
Today’s episode, the final one of Season 13, explores how Bank of America is preparing a massive global workforce for an AI future through upskilling and reskilling. Bernard Hampton, head of the financial institution’s Academy, explains how the learning and development organization focuses on workforce agility and a building combination of technical and soft skills. Bernard outlines a three-level approach to adopting artificial intelligence and shares situations in which he feels humans need to stay in the loop. Read the episode transcript here. Guest bio: Bernard Hampton leads The Academy, which is responsible for onboarding and upskilling more than 200,000 employees as Bank of America’s chief people organization. The Academy, a team of more than 1,000 dedicated professionals, provides expert facilitation and coaching, compliance education, and immersive technology. Hampton joined the bank in 2004 and has served in many leadership roles, including as a consumer banking division executive. In addition to serving as the bank’s executive market sponsor for the West Palm Beach market, he is an executive sponsor for multiple employee engagement groups, networks, and development programs including the Intergenerational Employee Network. Hampton also serves on the global advisory board for Operation Hope, and he is a Herndon Directors Institute fellow and a 2022 inductee to the Executive Leadership Council. He also serves as an executive board member of the Urban League of Palm Beach County. Me, Myself, and AI is a podcast produced by MIT Sloan Management Review and hosted by Sam Ransbotham. It is engineered by David Lishansky and produced by Allison Ryder. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials. ME, MYSELF, AND AI® is a federally registered trademark of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

Ever wondered how some organizations manage to turn artificial intelligence from a buzzword into a genuine engine for growth, while others struggle to move beyond the pilot phase? Me, Myself, and AI, a production from MIT Sloan Management Review, goes straight to the source to find out. Instead of theoretical discussions, this podcast features candid conversations with the people who are actually building and implementing AI systems at scale. You'll hear directly from leaders at prominent companies like YouTube, Cisco, and Hugging Face as they recount their journeys-not just the polished successes, but the real-world challenges, strategic decisions, and sometimes surprising lessons learned along the way. Each episode digs into the practicalities of creating measurable business value, cutting through the noise to reveal what effective AI leadership and integration truly look like. It’s a focused exploration for anyone in technology, business, or education who wants to understand the human and operational stories behind the algorithms. Tune in for an unvarnished look at the future being built, one practical application at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Me, Myself, and AI
Podcast Episodes
Authoring Creativity With AI: Researcher Patrick Hebron [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:52
If you’ve played with Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature or worked in Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, you’ve touched tools that Patrick Hebron’s work has made possible. A dual major in philosophy and film production, Patri…
If 10% of the World Were Developers: GitHub’s Mario Rodriguez [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:47
When Mario Rodriguez emigrated from Cuba to the United States at age 14 with his parents — a university professor, and a teacher turned electrical engineer — they had already instilled in him the value of education and a…
AI Hype and Skepticism: Economist Paul Romer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:19
Paul Romer once considered himself the most optimistic economist. He rightfully predicted that technology would blow up as an economic driver coming out of the inflation of the 1970s but acknowledges he did not foresee t…
Lights, AI, Action: Wonder Dynamics's Tye Sheridan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:43
Actor Tye Sheridan may not consider himself a technology expert, but his knowledge of visual effects (VFX) processes led him to cofound AI-driven startup Wonder Dynamics. With the company’s new product, Wonder Studio, cr…
Fashioning the Perfect Fit With AI: Stitch Fix’s Jeff Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:17
Jeff Cooper parlayed his interest in neuroscience and human behavior into a career in data science and today works as a senior data science director for online retail subscription service Stitch Fix. Jeff joins Me, Mysel…
Driving Manufacturing Efficiency With AI: Pirelli’s Daniele Petecchi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:30
Daniele Petecchi didn’t realize how complex the process of producing tires was until he joined Pirelli, a company that’s been in the business of manufacturing tires for more than 150 years. But now, as head of data manag…
Bonus Episode: Artificial Intelligence Podcasts With Jennifer Strong [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:58
While Me, Myself, and AI is on winter break, we hope you enjoy this episode. Jennifer Strong, longtime journalist and creator of the SHIFT podcast, joins Sam and Shervin to talk about their favorite Me, Myself, and AI ep…