Employers are failing to achieve the full benefit of their investment in artificial intelligence (AI) because their staff are not sufficiently trained to exploit the technology, research by international professional services firm EY suggests.
The firm’s Work Reimagined survey, which is based on responses from 15,000 employees and 1,500 employers across 29 countries including Ireland, suggests a growing gap between AI investment and the return being seen by companies.
The report’s authors say companies are continuing to make substantial investments in the adoption of AI technology, with 37 per cent of workers now using it on a daily basis in their jobs and 88 per cent saying it features to some extent.
More than half (54 per cent) of those saying they use AI, however, suggest it is used mainly for basic tasks, with just 5 per cent reported to be using it in an advanced way.
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Many of those who use it, meanwhile, are using platforms outside of those recommended by their firms, with up to 57 per cent of workers said to be bringing their own “shadow AI” solutions to work.
The report suggests training is the key to unlocking greater productivity from the investments being made.
“Organisations that combine effective AI deployment with strong talent strategies can unlock up to 40 per cent more productivity, but most are falling short,” it said.
“AI is everywhere,” said Laura Flynn, head of people consulting at EY Ireland, “and its impact can be tremendous, but to date most organisations have not tapped into its full potential, held back by a gap between ambition, adoption and human readiness.
“Our research finds that almost all workers now use AI to some degree, yet only a small fraction are using it to genuinely transform how they work, while concerns around job security, skill erosion and rising workloads are creating resistance.
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“At the same time however we are finding that employees can clearly see the benefit of AI to aid their work, and if their employer hasn’t provided them with the tools, they will use them surreptitiously, what is known as Shadow AI.”
The survey found that more than a third of workers, 37 per cent, believe their skills could be undermined or replaced by AI at some point, 64 per cent report increased pressure or workloads related to current expectations around it, but just 12 per cent are said to be receiving the training they need to fully exploit the technology in their roles.
