Business owners who want their employees to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) applications and improve how they do their jobs may face a bigger challenge than their staff learning how to use those tools effectively. A new study indicates many workers hesitate to adopt the tech out of concerns colleagues will disdain them as being lazy if they do—and also that those negative perceptions are very much a part of today's workplace.
Researchers at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Management and Organizations determined that many employees attach a considerable degree of stigma to colleagues using AI in the workplace. They found that biases against apps not only dissuade many workers from using them in fear they may be looked down upon by AI-wary colleagues. They discovered that some people who adopted the tech at their jobs got labeled negatively, which affected their workplace status.
"Individuals who use AI tools face negative judgments about their competence and motivation from others," the study's authors wrote. "These judgments manifest as both anticipated and actual social penalties, creating a paradox where productivity-enhancing AI tools can simultaneously improve performance and damage one's professional reputation."
Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.