The Executive Edge: AI in the Workplace
Michigan Ross School of Business Executive Education
The Executive Edge, a recently launched quarterly newsletter by Michigan Ross Executive Education that delivers insights and expert analysis on pressing issues in global business, featured a timely discussion with Michigan Ross Professor Nigel P. Melville on AI in the workplace.
Following a curated selection of news articles, we asked Professor Melville to share his thoughts on aligning AI strategies with workforce needs and preparing for the future of human-AI collaboration.
In the News:
Headline Highlights: Developments in AI continue to evolve rapidly while business leaders remain intrigued but cautious about the potential uses of AI in the workplace. As they and HR leaders anticipate the need for new skills to keep pace, a notable perception gap exists between workers and executives regarding AI's role, with many employees using AI discreetly due to fears of job displacement. While some organizations lag in AI adoption, younger employees lead the charge. The rise of AI also presents risks, including potential disparities in the workplace.
Expert Perspective from Nigel Melville, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Michigan Ross:
What can business leaders do to better understand AI’s actual capabilities and its broader impact beyond just productivity gains, and how can they better align AI strategies with the actual needs and perceptions of their workforce?
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Modern AI emerged against a background of waves of technological change (cloud computing, big data, etc.). As such, there is a solid foundation of knowledge concerning digital transformation and innovation that applies equally well to the AI space: technical vocabulary and intuition, generating value with tech, and understanding governance issues such as ethics, regulation, data privacy, and cybersecurity. Viewing AI as distinctive but simultaneously part of a long line of technological change can add valuable perspective and support productive learning journeys. AI presents new opportunities to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It also presents an opportunity to learn from employees about drudgery and pain points in their already long list of to-dos. What is this drudgery, and how can AI mitigate or eliminate it and create more room for non-drudgery functions? Asking these types of questions may help to align AI. ?
How do you see the future of human-AI collaboration in the workplace, and what should leaders do to prepare their teams for this shift?
It is always difficult to see the future. But one future that I seek to create through my research and engagements with the business world is one in which the use of AI is transparent whenever it is used, special safeguards are put in place for vulnerable populations and in high-risk contexts (perhaps mandated by regulatory agencies), and those deploying AI are held responsible and accountable when something goes wrong. Regarding human-AI collaboration, we need to understand better how humans learn from machines, how humans prefer to team with machines, and how humans can manage groups of humans and machines working together. ?
What are the potential long-term consequences for businesses where C-suite executives fail to recognize the full scope of AI adoption by their teams?
Based on emerging research, including my own, it seems likely that AI will have a modest to significant impact across most industries. This likelihood means that large organizations would be wise to develop an AI framework, i.e., a plan for how they will navigate an effective AI journey. For some, this means identifying near-term opportunities, developing and testing pilots, and scaling to production as necessary. For others, adding leadership or board members with AI skill sets (ideally, incorporating both technical and business dimensions) may be appropriate. Finally, a long-term strategic perspective may also be appropriate in many contexts, given the potential for AI to significantly alter how value is created in numerous domains and industries.
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