Leaders, employees not confident on responsible AI use at work

Many leaders and employees across the world don't think their organizations will implement AI responsibly at work, according to a new report.

A Workday survey found that 62% of business leaders and 55% of employees are confident that their organization will ensure AI is implemented in a responsible and trustworthy way.

Nearly a quarter of employees (23%) also said they aren't confident that their organization will put their employees' interests above its own when implementing AI, a sentiment shared by 21% of business leaders.

"There's no denying that AI holds immense opportunities for business transformation. However, our research shows that leaders and employees lack confidence in, and understanding of, their organizations' intentions around AI deployment within the workplace," said Jim Stratton, chief technology officer at Workday, in a statement.

These findings come in the heels of lukewarm reception towards AI at work - with only 62% of leaders and 52% of employees welcoming its adoption in the organization, according to the research.

Integrating AI at work

The report, which surveyed 1,375 business leaders and 4,000 employees across 15 countries, also found that there is still lack of clarity on the role people would play in the integration of AI in the workplace.

Seven in 10 of business leaders believe AI should be developed in a way that enables human review and intervention.

However, 42% of employees think their organizations are still in the dark on what processes should be automated and which ones require their intervention.

Stratton said a comprehensive approach to AI may help solve this ongoing trust gap.

"To help close this trust gap, organizations must adopt a comprehensive approach to AI responsibility and governance, with a lens on policy advocacy to help strike the right balance between innovation and trust," Stratton said.

Lack of regulations on AI

Leaders (42%) and employees (36%) also said having organization frameworks and regulation is important in establishing their trust towards AI.

But this comes while four in five business leaders have yet to release guidelines on responsible AI use, and three in four employees said their organization is not being collaborative in AI regulation.

These findings echo results of similar research that showed employers are playing catch up in embracing AI in the workplace despite widespread use among staff.

Matt Rosenberg, Grammarly's Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Grammarly Business, previously warned employers of the risk of falling behind if they don't recognise the value of AI at work.

"If you're a business leader, adopting generative AI is not optional — your teams and competitors already are," Rosenberg previously said.