At least in one recent survey there’s a disconnect between employees and executives regarding how they feel AI adoption is going.

According to Axios (AI is “tearing apart” companies, survey finds, written by Megan Marrone and available here), AI adoption in the workplace is deepening divisions and sparking new power struggles between leaders and workers, with half of executives saying that AI is “tearing their company apart,” according to new research from Writer, the enterprise AI startup. Here are some notable stats that illustrate the disconnect between employees and executives regarding AI adoption:

• 73% of executives feel their company’s approach to AI is well-controlled and highly strategic vs. just 47% for employees.
• 75% of executives think their company has been successful in adopting AI over the past 12 months vs. just 45% for employees.
• 89% of executives say their company has an AI strategy vs. just 57% for employees.
• 64% of executives believe their company has a high level of AI literacy vs. just 33% for employees.
• 59% of executives say they’re actively looking for a new job with a company that’s more innovative with generative AI vs. just 35% for employees.

The study surveyed 800 C-suite executives and 800 employees in December 2024 at enterprise organizations from 100 to over 10,000 employees in industries including technology, financial services, retail and consumer goods, health care, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences.

The article also shares these stats from other studies and reports:

• According to a May 2024 study from IBM, nearly two-thirds (64%) of leaders said their organization needs to embrace AI despite the fact that it will change jobs faster than employees can adapt.
• According to a 2024 LinkedIn report, 53% of employees said they hid their AI use from employers for fear that it would make them look replaceable.
• Last July, performance management company Lattice loudly proclaimed that AI bots should be “part of the workforce,” including taking spots in corporate org charts. The company quickly reversed course after a backlash.

I’m not surprised that there’s a disconnect between employees and executives over AI adoption, but I am surprised by the disparity of some of the numbers. Companies will need to reduce the gap considerably if they’re going to be successful in their AI implementations.

So, what do you think? What gen AI model(s) does your organization use? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

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