Feature
At this early juncture, the value of AI for business may not depend so much on who’s using it but on who’s willing to use it. Interest is fueling use of the tools, but concerns are holding back widespread adoption.
Much of this stems from human nature: human beings, when considering any kind of change, will view it through their own prism. In this case, both workers and employers are approaching AI adoption with a mix of wishful thinking, preconceptions and worries about how the technology is going to impact them.
In many ways, business is like the blind man’s elephant. Anyone introduced to an elephant by touch alone encounters contradictory impressions every time they move their hands. Touch the trunk, and the elephant seems like a large snake. Touch its side, and the animal seems like a wall. Its legs are like trees, its ears like tarpaulins. Sighted people have a different experience. At a glance, they see … an elephant.
It is very much the same when it comes to people and work. CEOs see a lot of possibilities when they look at generative AI. In fact, more than two-thirds of them (70%) said in a study by KPMG that they believe generative AI offers them a competitive edge, and nearly a quarter (22%) expect GenAI’s number one benefit to be increased profitability.
Meanwhile, their subordinates aren’t as confident, Orgvue found. Many lower-level executives are skeptical about the value AI offers and how quickly it can be incorporated into their company’s work.
The AI Disconnect
One area of human dynamics further complicates AI adoption.
The IBM Institute for Business Value has found that nearly two-thirds of CEOs (64%) believe their success with generative AI depends more on adoption than on the technology itself. Yet, they still emphasize implementation speed rather than their employees’ comfort level when considering AI.
Many CEOs admit they're pushing to adopt generative AI “more quickly than some people are comfortable with,” according to the IBM study. For example, 51% of business leaders are actively hiring for new AI-driven roles, even though a greater number (56%) haven’t even assessed the impact generative AI may have on their workforce.
That kind of thinking — essentially saying, “I believe this, even though I see contradictory signals” — isn’t unique to AI. Finding alignment on a vision appears to be a challenge beyond AI adoption.
For instance, while IBM found 81% of CEOs believe a common vision produces better outcomes, 37% acknowledge their employees don't fully understand how strategic decisions impact them.
This disconnect also happens at the top leadership level: Two-thirds of CEOs believe their company’s success is directly tied to collaboration between finance and technology, but 48% say competition in the C-Suite can get in the way of true cooperation.
So, what’s driving CEOs to act without full buy-in? Roughly half said that a fear of falling behind pushes them to invest in technologies before they have a clear understanding of their value. And two-thirds (67%) believe they’ll shoulder significant risk by implementing AI, but that the productivity gains they’ll see from automation makes the risk worth it.
Related Article: To Automate Effectively, We Need to Understand Humans Better
The View From my Window
Employees also perceive AI based on where they sit. Their enthusiasm — or wariness — depends on everything from their role, to their industry, to where they work. Their level on the org chart is also an influence.
Research by Boston-based workforce resilience company meQ has found that higher-level employees have a better grasp of AI’s dynamics than team members lower on the organizational chart. In a blog post, meQ’s Chief Science Officer Brad Smith said this has a direct link to their more proactive, positive response to the technology.
More specifically, the company found that higher-level workers are more likely to be early adopters of AI and regard AI as a productivity booster. They are also a lot more likely to get guidance on how to actually use AI tools.
Where work is conducted also plays a role. Employees who work in the office feel more protected from AI’s impact than those who work off-site, 22% compared to 17%. On the other hand, remote and hybrid workers are more likely to understand there are policies in place governing AI’s use (34% vs. 25%) and say they receive management support on effectively using AI.
All of that emphasizes the importance of seamless communications across the organization. On-site workers feel safer because they’re more visible and have closer relationships with their managers. Meanwhile, managers seem to share more information about AI’s day-to-day use to remote workers, perhaps because they connect with them through more direct channels, such as email instead of in-person team briefings.
Finally, how employees deal with change and new challenges is another important factor, Smith said. Those who are more “resilient” are more likely to take advantage of AI. Those who are less resilient are more likely to be anxious, insecure and resistant.
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The bottom line: Employers need to take a holistic approach to transformation, said Smith. They should create “targeted training, support and change management strategies to empower all workers.” This, he said, will help companies successfully and productively incorporate generative AI into everyone’s roles.
