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As companies worldwide introduce AI in their workflow, a new report suggests take-up among employees is starting to cool as people are uncomfortable admitting they use AI for their tasks.
Over the past three months, AI adoption rates have stalled in France and the U.S., with excitement rates around AI dropping 6 percentage points globally.
This data comes from Slack’s Fall 2024 Workforce Index which suggests employees are hiding their AI use from managers. This is due to workers feeling uncomfortable admitting to their manager that they used AI for a task.
Among those who said they’d feel uneasy sharing, the most commonly cited reasons for this included “feeling like using AI is cheating (47%), fear of being seen as less competent (46%), fear of being seen as lazy (46%).
Employees don’t want their bosses to know they’ve used AI
“Our research shows that even if AI helped you complete a task more quickly and efficiently, plenty of people wouldn’t want their bosses to know they used it,” said Christina Janzer, head of Slack’s Workforce Lab.
“Leaders need to understand that this technology doesn’t just exist in a business context of ‘Can I get the job done as quickly and effectively as possible,’ but in a social context of ‘What will people think if they know I used this tool for help?’”
“AI use is discouraged or not allowed by company policy” was the least commonly cited reason at only 21%.
General excitement around AI is also dropping, from 46% to 41%, among the overall global population. This trend is being driven by the US where the number of workers who say they’re excited about AI helping them to complete tasks at work dropped from 45% to 36%.
A decrease in interest has also been seen in France, Japan and the UK. “With so many businesses making AI investments right now, these findings are a real wakeup call to leaders,” said Janzer.
“AI adoption isn’t just about enterprises, it’s also about employees. With sentiment around AI dropping, businesses need to help employees accelerate their AI journey and address the cultural and organizational blockers standing in their way.”
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
