As AI use accelerates, employees and C-suite leaders agree on managing potential risks: ‘It will take a relentless focus’
Good morning.
While 2024 may be all about AI advancement, two reports released this week show there’s still work to do in building trust and mitigating risk.
An AI trust gap is forming in the workplace, according to a report released Wednesday by Workday, Inc., (a CFO Daily sponsor). The research finds that both leaders and employees lack confidence and understanding of their company’s plans around AI deployment, according to Jim Stratton, chief technology officer at Workday.
Among C-suite leaders and their direct reports surveyed, just 62% welcome AI, and the same percentage have confidence their company will make sure AI is implemented in a responsible and trustworthy way. The sentiment is even lower among other employees—at 52% and 55%, respectively.
To be clear, both leaders and employees still believe AI can be transformative for business, the research finds, but concerns linger over implementing it ethically. And for many, that means having a human being in the driver’s seat.
Seventy percent of leaders and 69% of employees believe AI applications with significant risks should remain under human control and be developed in ways that allow human intervention. But almost half (42%) of employees believe their company does not have a clear understanding of which systems should be fully automated.
This means companies, Stratton said in a statement, should look to create a detailed approach to AI responsibility and governance “with a lens on policy advocacy to help strike the right balance between innovation and trust.”
Workday's survey, which gauged the sentiment of 1,375 business leaders and 4,000 employees across the globe, also found that both leaders and employees cited regulation and workable frameworks as key for building trust in AI.
Speaking of regulating AI, the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024 finds that misinformation and disinformation powered by AI is the no. 1 emerging risk over the next two years. The report, released on Wednesday ahead of the organization's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, beginning Jan. 15, warns the rise of AI may make it easier to carry out cyberattacks. Meanwhile, there's growing concern generative AI chatbots could become vehicles for promoting misinformation that creates additional danger around economic or geopolitical conflicts.
Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer of Europe at Marsh McLennan, which coauthored the report with Zurich Insurance Group, affirms that AI breakthroughs will disrupt the risk outlook for organizations. “It will take a relentless focus to build resilience at organizational, country, and international levels—and greater cooperation between the public and private sectors—to navigate this rapidly evolving risk landscape," Klint said in a statement.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
