A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives, a curated forum for enterprise technology leaders, nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the CIOApplications Editorial Board.

Research Intern

Building Constructive Conversations about AI in the Workplace

Chatter about AI seems to be everywhere. Much of this chatter feeds concerns and anxiety in organizations, schools, and society at large. Little of this chatter is organized to help people harness the transformative benefits of AI.

Leaders can help employees use AI wisely. To do so, they need to initiate constructive and open conversations about AI and how it impacts employees. Employees are hungry for these conversations about AI.

As leaders plan conversations around AI, they should be aware of two key challenges:

• Executives and managers hold much rosier views of AI than frontline employees.
• Frequent users of AI tend to hold positive but balanced views of AI, while infrequent users of AI tend to hold deeply skeptical views of AI.

In July 2023, we surveyed over 400 working professionals in the U.S. about their views of AI in the workplace, in schools, and in society. We briefly share the survey results with contrasts between executives and frontline employees and between frequent and infrequent AI users. We wrap up with several recommendations for leaders to build constructive conversations about AI.

AI in the Workplace

Overall, roughly 41 percent of working professionals reported they use AI on a weekly basis for work (we refer to weekly users as frequent users of AI). The rate of adoption is unparalleled with other technologies in the workplace.

One fascinating aspect of adoption is that it is top-down. In other words, executives and managers are adopting AI quicker than frontline employees. In our survey, 72 percent of executives are frequent users, 59 percent of managers are frequent users, and just 24 percent of frontline employees are frequent users.

Among frequent users of AI, they use AI for the following reasons in order of frequency: generating ideas (66 percent), researching a topic (54 percent), data analysis (42 percent), drafting messages (e.g., emails, texts) (42 percent), drafting social media posts (30 percent), drafting reports and other longer documents (26 percent), editing texts (34 percent), and programming (24 percent).

A lot of commentary suggests AI will make work much more efficient, yet this perception varies widely based on the frequency of AI use. Roughly 77 percent of frequent users believe AI helps generate ideas for business. Compared to 49 percent among infrequent users, 76 percent of frequent users believe AI makes work more efficient. Compared to 44 percent among infrequent users, 71 percent of frequent users believe AI improves creativity and innovation. Compared to 36 percent among infrequent users, and 73 percent of frequent users believe AI helps professionals communicate more effectively compared to 34 percent among infrequent users.

Executives and managers hold much rosier views of AI than frontline employees. For example, 65 percent of executives say AI will be good for the economy compared to 36 percent of managers and 22 percent of frontline employees. Similarly, 48 percent of executives think AI will create more jobs compared to 44 percent of managers and 17 percent of frontline employees. Interestingly, executives also believe leaders will gain more of the benefits of AI than employees. About 61 percent of executives think managers will receive more of the benefits of AI than employees, compared to 53 percent of managers and 42 percent of frontline employees.

AI in Schools and Society

Anecdotally, we’ve noticed that conversations about AI in the workplace appear to be heavily influenced by the views employees have developed about AI in schools and society. Most employees develop these views through news, movies, and talking to their kids who are in school.

Public commentary varies widely on these topics. For example, some experts believe AI will be positive for education, while others are skeptical that AI will help education. Similarly, some suggest experts believe AI can improve democracy, while others are mostly concerned AI could hijack democracy.

Interestingly, frequent AI users hold balanced views of AI, while infrequent users hold deeply skeptical views. For example, 67 percent of frequent AI users worry that AI will lead to more cheating in school. It’s roughly the same for infrequent users, with 63 percent sharing this concern. Yet, 72 percent of frequent users believe teachers should use AI for class planning and development, and 66 percent believe AI is good for education. Among infrequent users, just 36 percent think teachers should use AI for class planning and development, and only 24 percent believe AI is good for education.

A similar pattern exists for views about society. For example, 71 percent of frequent users and 68 percent of infrequent users worry that AI will be used to generate misleading content in political campaigns. Yet, 68 percent of frequent users also think AI can be used by the government to better serve the needs of citizens, while only 27 percent of infrequent users share this view. In other words, frequent and infrequent AI users hold roughly similar concerns, but frequent users also see the transformative and positive potential of AI.

Holding Conversations about AI that Account for Existing Views of AI

As leaders initiate conversations about AI, they should stay keenly aware of the different views held by executives versus frontline employees and frequent users versus infrequent users. Specifically, leaders should adopt the following strategies:

• Experiment with AI together. One of the fundamental challenges of conversations about AI is people do not have a common reference point. As a result, their general attitudes toward AI tend to influence the conversation more so than a specific application of AI (which is a more useful conversation in the workplace). By experimenting together on a specific use case, each person in the conversation has a common reference point. We recommend workshop style meetings where each person on a team or work group is at a computer going through the same exercise or demo.

Savvy leaders will create many spaces to build a community around an AI-driven future in which employees collectively contribute to norms, values, and policies. Every voice matters in the AI journey

• Hold balanced conversations about the benefits and drawbacks of AI. Since executives generally hold positive views of AI, their instinct is to exclusively promote the benefits of AI. These benefit-first conversations often emphasize higher efficiency and innovation. Employees who hold deeply skeptical views of AI are unlikely to respond well to this approach. Instead, leaders should ensure conversations address the strengths and limitations of AI. Aim for moderation as you describe benefits. Give employees the time and space to discover the benefits on their own.

• Make sure to address the concerns and risks of AI. In fact, allow employees to share their concerns. Avoid the impulse to correct employees. Frequent users of AI often notice that infrequent users have many misperceptions about AI. For example, frequent users often observe that infrequent users tend to exaggerate the limitations of AI based on very little experience. These misperceptions are often driven by what they’ve heard in the media, from friends, and from family members. Rather than correct them, focus on the underlying fears and concerns. More often than not, these fears and concerns are legitimate and need to be addressed in best practices and corporate policies and guidelines.

• Create spaces to co-create an AI-driven future. We are now in a transformational moment where nearly all knowledge workers will engage in a personal AI journey. Employees will recognize many ways to work more efficiently and creatively. They’ll recognize they need to upskill. They’ll notice many ethical dilemmas posed by AI. They’ll experience moments of exhilaration and fear. Savvy leaders will create many spaces to build a community around an AI-driven future in which employees collectively contribute to norms, values, and policies. Every voice matters in the AI journey.

The articles from these contributors are based on their personal expertise and viewpoints, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their employers or affiliated organizations.