Executives and employees have little confidence in responsible development and deployment of AI
Workday, Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, publishes new research showing an AI trust gap in the workplace. While executives workday global and employees agree that AI offers great opportunities for business transformation, there is a lack of confidence that AI will be deployed responsibly. Employees are even more sceptical about this than their managers.
Key findings include:
62 per cent of executives (C-level or their direct subordinates) welcome AI. Among employees, this percentage is lower: 52 per cent.
23 per cent of employees are not confident that their organisation puts employees' interests above its own when implementing AI.
70 per cent of executives agree that AI should be developed in such a way that human assessment and intervention is easily possible.
42 per cent of employees believe their company does not have a clear understanding of which systems should be fully automated and which require human intervention.
Three in four employees say their organisation does not participate in AI regulation.
Four in five employees say their company has not yet shared guidelines on responsible AI use.
"There is no denying that AI offers huge opportunities for business transformation. However, our research shows that executives and employees do not trust and understand their organisation's intentions when it comes to deploying AI in the workplace," said Jim Stratton, chief technology officer at Workday. "To help close this trust gap, organisations need to take a comprehensive approach to AI accountability and management, and develop policies to help strike the right balance between innovation and trust."
"Ethical standards when using AI and ML are critical to long-term success. As we introduce more and more AI technologies, we are focusing on building trust with customers and employees," said Dan Cohen, chief information officer and director of operations at The Amenity Collective. "Our ambitious goal is to create a culture, at the core of our company, that adopts AI and empowers every person in our company to use it to do the right thing for our customers. I applaud Workday's commitment to understanding and addressing the sentiment of leaders and employees so that we can work towards closing the AI trust gap."
Lack of trust across all levels of the workforce
When it comes to organisations adopting and deploying AI responsibly, there is a lack of trust at all levels of the workforce, especially among employees. Only 62 per cent of executives welcome the adoption of AI in their organisation. The same number are confident that their organisation will ensure that AI is implemented responsibly and reliably. At the employee level, that number drops to 52 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively.
There is also uncertainty among employees and managers that their organisation will implement AI properly. 23 per cent of employees are not confident that their organisation will put employees' interests above its own when implementing AI. 21 per cent of executives share that sentiment.
Human intervention with AI
Executives and employees Workday global want human involvement in AI processes, but do not know how best to do so. 70 per cent of executives agree that AI should be developed in such a way that human assessment and intervention is easily possible. But, 42 per cent of employees believe their company does not have a clear understanding of which systems should be fully automated and which require human intervention.
Earlier research on AI commissioned by Workday confirms concerns about companies' ability to implement AI responsibly and effectively: nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of executives say their organisation does not have the skills to fully implement AI and ML. An even slightly higher percentage (76 per cent) say their own knowledge of AI and ML applications needs improvement.
Need for smart AI management with transparency
When asked to imagine a future where AI is part of everyday life, 42 per cent of executives and 36 per cent of employees cite organisational frameworks and regulations as most important for building reliable AI.
