Editorial
The influx of news, corporate announcements and personal conversations about the effect AI is having on our lives and ways of working is hard to escape.
This nascent wave of AI implementation shows no signs of dissipating. Over half of the US business leaders (56%) BSI surveyed now view AI as crucial to the growth of their organization, while even more (70%) expect their organization to increase investment in AI.
How AI Affects the Workforce
However, as companies implement AI tools at a rapid pace and scale, we must consider the impact of the transformation on the workforce and take action to mitigate potentially harmful effects.
Business investments into AI have centered too often on automating, rather than upskilling, the workforce. In fact, our research reveals that the word “automation” is nearly seven times more prominent within corporate AI narratives than words like “upskilling,” “training” or “education.” The implication is leaders are sidelining their investment in people in favor of technology.
While 63% of business leaders feel society has learned from past technology rollouts — such as the internet, social media and cloud computing — the potential impacts of AI on the workforce seem far more far-reaching, disruptive and enduring than previous waves of technological innovation.
The Training Capabilities Gap
One area of concern is a lack of AI training for the U.S. workforce. BSI research reveals a significant gap between leaders’ perceptions of their employees’ AI capabilities and actual provision of training.
Business leaders expressed confidence in their own and their employees’ abilities to use AI, with 69% of leaders believing they received the training they needed to use AI in a safe and secure way, while 66% believe their workforce possesses the necessary skills to effectively use AI tools in their daily tasks.
While these perceptions paint a positive picture, a different story unfolds when assessing the provisional training businesses have in place. Under a third (30%) of businesses have an AI learning and development program in place, while even fewer (20%) have an AI governance framework.
This capabilities gap exposes both employers and the broader workforce to significant potential harm. An unprepared workforce risks obsolescence, while a lack of safeguards invites unsafe AI use, potentially compromising privacy or intellectual property.
AI and the Young Workforce
Another area of contradiction lies in the sense of optimism business leaders express about the potential of AI, despite implicitly acknowledging the impact it could unleash on the young workforce.
Attitudes towards AI tools are overwhelmingly positive, with 74% of US leaders believing that AI has delivered tangible benefits for their organization, while only 33% regard AI as a source of risk or area of weakness.
The sense of optimism remains when business leaders are asked about AI’s potential to upskill the junior workforce, believing I it will strengthen junior workers’ abilities across key workplace skills. While other researchers have sounded alarms at potential links between AI and "cognitive laziness," BSI research finds a third of leaders (32%) believe that critical thinking, decision making, information gathering and creativity will be strengthened by the use of AI.
Ironically, these same leaders are relieved that the start of their own careers predated AI. Nearly two thirds (61%) of US business leaders report feeling lucky to have started their careers before the advent of AI, and two in five (43%) say they would not have developed their skills had AI tools been widely accessible at the start of their careers.
The faith among leaders in AI’s perceived ability to empower the young workforce is incongruous with the belief that their own core skills development would have been hindered by AI. This stark contrast reveals a disconnect in executives’ understanding of AI’s developmental effects and potential for disruption.
Conclusion
Business attitudes towards AI adoption in the US are deeply conflicted. On the surface, there is clear excitement surrounding AI’s potential to deliver tangible benefits and enhance workforce capabilities. Looking deeper, this optimism is tempered by a critical lack of comprehensive training and robust guardrails, coupled with a subtle acknowledgment of the potential challenges these tools could pose to the next generation of workers.
To truly harness AI's potential in a safe and equitable way which prioritizes upskilling over mere automation, it is urgent for leaders to invest in comprehensive learning and development programs, establish clear AI governance frameworks and implement strong ethical guardrails. While no single solution will prevent all workforce disruption from AI adoption, these three measures can provide a starting point for companies to reduce risk, close training gaps and improve how AI is integrated into everyday work.
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