Machine learning, deep learning, and other artificial intelligence technologies promise to significantly reshape the workplace. They can reduce redundant tasks, automate work, and improve organizational capabilities. Yet for most companies, the potential of these technologies is still out of reach. As a recent census study shows, less than 7% of organizations have adopted AI technologies. Why?
Based on our ongoing research with dozens of companies, AI solutions most frequently fail to gain adoption because leaders worry how the deployment of AI might affect their company. They fear the new technology might displace work, disrupt workplace dynamics, or require new skills to master, and they hesitate.
These aren’t unfounded anxieties. Implementing AI can introduce disruptive change and disfranchise staff and employees. When members are reluctant to adopt a new technology, they might hesitate to use it, push back against its deployment, or use it in limited capacity — which affects the benefits an organization gains from using it in the first place. Organizations often don’t see the problems coming, because affected employees do not always share their true views and concerns with managers upfront.