AI Drives Skills Erosion and Redesigns Work

A global study by IBM for Business Value has highlighted a disconnect between what chief human resource officers (CHROs) believe employees need to thrive in an AI-driven workforce and what employees prioritize themselves.

The survey of 1,500 CHROs and 8,800 employees found that while 71% of CHROs identified the ability to supervise, validate, and override AI outputs as crucial, only 29% of employees considered judgment essential.

Critical thinking was also cited by both groups, but CHROs prioritized it more highly (57%) than employees (49%). Meanwhile, skills erosion was a major concern for both parties, with 60% of employees worried about their skills being eroded and 46% of CHROs citing it as one of their top concerns.

The study's findings suggest that organizations which have successfully harnessed the power of AI are those which have redesigned work processes to be human-led, AI-assisted, or AI-executed. These companies reported an 18% reduction in risk and a 20% improvement in quality compared to those which did not.