IBM Study: AI Adoption Eroding Skills Employers Need Most

An IBM study reveals that AI adoption may be eroding the very skills employers need most. The research, conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value, surveyed 1,500 CHROs and senior executives from 21 geographies and 23 industries, as well as 8,800 full-time employees across 28 countries.

The study found a disconnect between executives and employees on the importance of critical thinking and problem framing. While 57% of executives prioritize these skills, only 49% of employees do. A larger divide emerged around evaluating AI itself, with 71% of executives prioritizing the ability to supervise, validate or override AI outputs, compared to 38% of employees.

The concern is not limited to new skills workers need to acquire, but also existing skills being eroded by AI. The study found that 60% of employees say skill erosion affects them directly, and three out of four report that AI has already begun to erode at least some of their skills.

IBM emphasizes the need for organizations to clearly define workflows as human-led, AI-assisted or AI-executed. Only 26% of organizations do so currently, leading to unclear accountability and exception handling in many cases.