An expert cautions that companies using artificial intelligence to reduce their workforce risk facing negative consequences.
Chief executive of Vantaset and workplace performance expert Craig Steel said business leaders must use AI and automation to achieve greater value at a lower cost, but they need to approach it with the right perspective.
“When AI is implemented simply to reduce workforce size or centralise control, it can backfire, weakening morale, diminishing trust and stalling innovation. People will push back, because they’re afraid that the only reason they’re bringing in AI is to get rid of them.”
“There’s a misguided belief that AI will close the gap for any organisation that applies it, but what we’ve seen is that, when organisations adopt technology without modernising their leadership and culture, the gains they were seeking rarely occur.”
“What is it that an executive team is going to need to do, or what could they do to fast-track the adoption of AI, but in a way that their people want to back?”
He said AI should be used to enhance efficiency and effectiveness within the time available.
“I feel hugely excited for the arrival of AI and what it can do for any organisation,” Steel noted.
“I think we have to be really clear in saying, ‘Where is the value, and how do organisations harness it?'”
“At the moment, what I think a lot of the discussion is centred on is, ‘Can we bring in AI in order to get rid of people?’ rather than saying, ‘Can we leverage AI in order to leverage our people to add greater value?'”
Steel says we shouldn’t reject AI, as the rest of the world will continue to use it, but chief executives and leaders must view AI with the right perspective instead of the current uncoordinated approach.
“Despite the hype, AI’s promise of efficiency is often delayed by years of integration, upskilling and business model adaption. In New Zealand, many small and mid-sized firms lack the scale or leadership frameworks to carry that burden effectively.”