As more companies integrate artificial intelligence tools, workplace dynamics and culture appear to be shifting, according to an Aug. 12 report from CalypsoAI, an AI security provider.
For instance, 45% of workers said they trust AI more than their co-workers, and 38% said they would rather have an AI manager than a person. In addition, 34% said they’d quit if their employer banned AI.
In a survey of 1,000 U.S. office workers, 87% said their employer has an AI policy, but 52% would be willing to break it if AI makes their job easier. Beyond that, 28% have used AI to access sensitive data, and 28% have also submitted proprietary company data to AI to complete a task.
“These numbers should be a wake-up call. We’re seeing executives racing to implement AI without fully understanding the risks, front-line employees using it unsupervised, and even trusted security professionals breaking their own rules,” Donnchadh Casey, CEO of CalypsoAI, said in a news release. “We know inappropriate use of AI can be catastrophic for enterprises, and this isn’t a future threat — it’s already happening inside organizations today.”
Among C-suite executives, half said they’d prefer AI managers over humans. At the same time, 34% aren’t sure they can tell the difference between an AI agent and a human employee, and 38% don’t know what an AI agent is.
Among entry-level workers, 37% said they wouldn’t feel guilty for violating their company’s AI policy. Since 21% said their company’s AI rules aren’t clear, they “just do what works,” the report found.
Opinions varied by industry, with 58% of security professionals saying they trust AI more than their colleagues and 27% of healthcare workers saying they’d rather report to AI than a human supervisor.
AI-related culture seems to vary by generation as well, with half of Generation Z workers saying they see ChatGPT as a co-worker or a friend and nearly half saying they’d rather ask ChatGPT questions than consult their boss, according to a report from Resume.org. Across generations, workers said they use AI to make tough work decisions, seek advice and find mental health support.