How to overcome employee fears of AI

As businesses continue to find ways to integrate AI into their operations, employee fears must be addressed, writes Aaron McEwan.

With the promise of greater productivity, insights and efficiencies, employees should be jumping at the chance to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their daily work processes, particularly after the hype surrounding generative AI. Yet, many employees in Australia are growing increasingly concerned about using this emerging technology.

While fear of losing their job is a leading factor, the technology’s potential to discriminate or put sensitive data at risk also has employees feeling worried.

Many organisations have tasked their workforces with integrating AI tools into their workflow, but few have provided adequate policies or support to guide its use. When there is a lack of confidence among employees, both engagement and performance can suffer.

As AI implementation increases, it is vital for businesses to educate their workforce and build confidence. This means better understanding what’s behind employees’ fear of AI and how to overcome those fears to drive business value.

Job displacement

Many employees are worried about the potential impact AI will have on their jobs. For some, the concern is that their role will become redundant; for others, the worry lies with how the technology will reshape their responsibilities. According to Gartner research, 56 per cent of employees believe their jobs will be significantly redesigned due to AI.

HR leaders can help employees better understand the technology by offering training or development on a range of topics, such as the impact on their industry or function, how to incorporate solutions into their day-to-day work, and how to effectively use it.

When employees understand the technology and its use in relation to their own role, engagement and enterprise contribution immediately benefit.

Inaccurate AI

Employees think that inaccuracy or bias created by AI will negatively impact their role or performance. This is most apparent in HR-related cases, with Gartner research showing only 54 per cent of managers are comfortable with generative AI summarising performance feedback.

Employees need the opportunity to voice their ideas, feelings, and opinions about the use of this technology. Holding workshops, roundtables, or periodic check-ins to consult with individuals and teams can be useful to uncover and address issues.

Organisations that demonstrate how AI works and allow employees to provide input, co-create, and test solutions can help address inaccuracies and alleviate fears.

Lack of transparency

It’s human nature to fear the unknown. Gartner research has shown few organisations are fully transparent about how AI will impact their workforce and how solutions will be used. To get the most out of AI, they must first secure the trust of their employees.

Leaders should share what risks and opportunities are influencing their AI policy and how the technology relates to key business priorities. Employees also need to know what behaviours to adopt or avoid and how their decisions can impact the organisation’s overall success.

Reputational damage

As AI continues to evolve, its use and misuse in the workplace is a growing topic of conversation. Knowing it can contribute to a range of serious issues, such as the spread of misinformation, perpetuating biases, and even plagiarism, has many employees feeling the risks are simply too great.

Leaders involved in implementing AI have cited concerns about ethics, fairness, and trust as barriers they expect to face. According to Gartner, more than 75 per cent of employees don’t think the future use of AI will be ethical.

To combat this, managers need to formalise accountability through new governance structures to give workers confidence that the organisation takes these issues seriously. To boost employee trust, for example, some companies have deputised AI ethics representatives at the business unit level to oversee the execution of policies and practices within their departments.

Data insecurity

All data requires robust security measures. The fear among some employees is that the implementation of AI will put their personal data or sensitive customer information at risk.

To increase employee trust, organisations should establish an employee data bill of rights to serve as a foundation for policies. It should include why data is being collected, what it will be used for, how long it will be retained, and that it is being used for legitimate business reasons.

The inclusion of this information will help reinforce equal opportunity, access, and treatment in the workplace.

Conclusion

As businesses continue to find ways to integrate AI into their operations, employee fears must be addressed. By winning the trust of employees, the benefits of AI will extend beyond projects, with flow-on effects to engagement, inclusion, and effort contribution.

Aaron McEwan is the vice president of advisory in Gartner’s HR practice.