November 8, 2022

Companies are more likely to benefit from artificial intelligence if their employees personally benefit from the technology, according to a report by the MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group.

According to the report, 64% of respondents personally benefited from the use of AI and were 3.4 times more likely to be satisfied with their work than workers who did not benefit from AI. Despite claims that AI would replace jobs, 60% of respondents found that AI tools were more like a coworker.

Individuals benefited from acquiring skills in their job, such as using AI to make better decisions, and benefited from greater autonomy, according to the report. People also reported adding value through stronger relationships. According to the report, respondents reported that using AI improved their interaction with team members (56%), managers (47%), and other people in their departments (52%).

However, according to the report, managers can improve the individual use and value of AI by ensuring that employees can easily interpret AI-based outcomes and recommendations. Users who can interpret AI outcomes are 2.8 times more likely to trust AI than those who cannot.

The report also found that both the need to use AI and building trust in the technology increase the likelihood that people will use it regularly, making it more effective. Moreover, people who had to use AI were 1.4 times more likely to benefit than those who did not.

While the need to deploy AI may initially help with its deployment, especially when there is resistance, it is crucial to preserve individual autonomy and allow workers to override the technology. Employees who needed to use AI were three times more likely to use it than those who could not, but people who could override AI were 2.1 times more likely to use it than those who could not.

The sources for this piece include an article in TechRepublic.