How AI tunnel vision is causing leaders to undervalue their people

As business leaders push AI as the cure-all for efficiency, Aaron McEwan is urging them to slow down – warning that their relentless, tech-obsessed messaging is leaving employees feeling sidelined, undervalued, and far less motivated to perform.

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms Australian workplaces, leaders are exploring a variety of strategies to implement the technology, often presenting it as the ultimate solution for boosting efficiency, streamlining operations, and automating routine business processes.

However, Aaron McEwan, vice president of research and advisory at Gartner, has urged leaders to rethink how they communicate their AI plans to employees, cautioning that missteps could alienate employees and erode both engagement and performance.

While acknowledging that businesses cannot avoid the influence of AI, McEwan warned that unchecked executive enthusiasm is increasingly clashing with workforce uncertainty, creating a cultural and motivational gap that could threaten business performance in 2026.

“You can’t escape the AI, that just comes over everything,” he said.

“You’ve got CEOs on one hand that are overestimating the near-term hacks of AI. They’re sitting there thinking robots can come in and do it, and that just doesn’t stack up. But whether purposeful or not, they’re giving that message to their [workforce], and that is dangerous.”

Although AI can improve efficiency, McEwan cautioned that technology alone cannot drive business success. True growth, he argued, comes from the passion, creativity, and innovation of the workforce itself.

“The risk that business leaders are running is that at the moment, yes, AI can deliver efficiencies. But, efficiencies don’t run [successful businesses]. Growth always comes from the value of creation, innovation [and] creativity,” he said.

Even more concerning, McEwan explained, is that the unintended message employees may take from leaders who prioritise AI above all else risks undermining the very talent and motivation that drive the workforce.

“I worry about whether this explicit or implied message from business leaders about employees’ creative talents … If they lose their workforces, they lose the work, they lose the hearts and minds of the workforces,” he said.

He added: “I have no doubt we’ll get there. But it’s a while away. We just have to be careful that we don’t unnecessarily speed forces and, more importantly, though, we should be worried about disengaging. So, word of caution about the unintended message”.

One of the biggest mistakes organisations can make, McEwan explained, is shielding employees from the realities of change. Instead, he urged leaders to be transparent and direct about what AI adoption means for both the business and individual careers.

“We all should be worried because worry creates impetus and action, so we can’t get comfortable and rest on our morals. So I don’t think we should be trying to avoid spooking [employees] in the sense that I think businesses probably need to be upfront about their intentions,” he said.

McEwan also stressed that HR leaders must prioritise creating a workplace where employees feel both safe and challenged, the balance that allows them to thrive and perform at their best.

“Human beings are at their best when there’s a comfortable balance between feeling safe and challenged. I think that the balance is all out of whack, and that’s where leaders become really important. So what I’d say is that’s where HR needs to be,” he said.