ARTICLE | October 24, 2024 | VOICES

The AI-disrupted majority

Are we forgetting the workers facing a completely new set of challenges as work evolves?

By Dave Wright, chief innovation officer at ServiceNow

We’ve all seen the headlines: Some companies are offering million-dollar pay packages to attract AI talent, whereas others are laying off workers due to productivity gains achieved with AI. These news stories illustrate the zero-sum way we talk about how AI affects work: It either creates jobs or kills them.

But that isn’t always the case. In fact, the discourse obscures an important nuance. Most workers will continue to work in careers that already exist, but how they work will change. This disrupted majority, as I call them, will face different challenges entirely. Their jobs will remain in name—but change in practice.

If overlooked, this group will face unprecedented obstacles. Instead of making the most of the AI platforms and tools available to them, they will struggle to adapt. At best, their productivity gains will be slashed as they struggle with the new tools. At worst, they will quit.

But future-thinking enterprises that empower workers in the disrupted majority to transition to AI-first work will see a boost in productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.

The self-optimizing enterprise

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The magic of AI and generative AI (GenAI) lies in their ability to parse data. Natural language processing models make it easier than ever to find, compile, and understand information.

AI-powered transformation is already taking place across numerous industries. For customer support agents, AI can pull together a case history and summarize the issues at hand. In the healthcare industry, AI is helping with inventory optimization and analyzing large amounts of noisy data. Product developers are using AI to brainstorm ideas, while executives are turning to GenAI as a second opinion on business and strategy. And of course, AI serves as a coding assistant that generates and reviews code for thousands of engineers.

In all these cases, the job itself has not changed. Service agents still provide assistance to people who need it. Doctors are still focused on safeguarding their patients’ health. Salespeople still chat with customers about their challenges. But for the disrupted majority, how their jobs get done is what will change, and that’s where users will need support.

Compared to many members of the disrupted majority, I have an advantage. I like playing around with new tools, and I have the technical acumen to understand how to use them.

But for those without my background, training, and mindset, the introduction of new technologies can be a source of angst rather than excitement. On top of doing their regular jobs, they have to learn something new, and they face the pressure of increased expectations. For the disrupted majority, this is their looming reality.

There is tremendous variation in workers’ technical skill sets, and not all workers are prepared to utilize AI in the workplace. Over the next three to five years, millions of workers’ jobs will be augmented by AI, according to research by Pearson and ServiceNow. But many of these workers will need training and upskilling to succeed.

The disrupted majority must have help figuring this out. Enterprises can and should be that help. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s also the only path forward for businesses that don’t want to squander the potential this technology has to offer.

Fortunately, enterprises can smooth the transition to AI-first work for the disrupted majority. But it’s going to require the entire company to be proactive. Executives need to decide how AI should be used by workers. Teams must take a look at their processes and determine how AI can augment them. And finally, employees should brainstorm how AI might help them do their jobs better. At the moment, businesspeople are primarily using AI to give them an advantage by making them appear more intelligent or effective.

For the disrupted majority, how their jobs get done is what will change, and that’s where they will need support.

During goal-setting meetings, executives should empower employees to lead the conversation by providing feedback about their own roles. For many, it’s hard to fully grok their way through the problem of AI, thinking through potential applications of it in their own work. It’s a lot easier to ask questions such as what’s confusing, what isn’t working, and what are the bottlenecks they’re encountering. Asking and answering these questions can help employees—and executives—start to change the way work gets done and devise how AI can play a beneficial role.

Executives themselves need to change their mindset too. Enterprises should encourage and reward exploration in the workplace. There’s a sizable body of research on the power of internal entrepreneurs: workers who take the initiative to experiment with novel ways of doing things. But few companies offer rewards for such initiative. They should consider providing bonuses and perks for employees who make impressive strides using AI in their work.

Beyond identifying how AI can be applied in the workplace and rewarding entrepreneurs, enterprises must help with the transition to working in an AI-first world. Offering reskilling and upskilling programs is a good starting point. More informal training can come from activities such as knowledge-sharing sessions, study groups, and mentorship programs. Allowing skills training to be part of the workweek, instead of in addition to the workweek, can also encourage workers to upgrade their skills.

Businesses can partner with universities to create specific training programs for students that lead to employment opportunities after graduation. Future graduates will be far more likely to join a company that offers this pathway, according to research from Handshake. With AI transforming the landscape, we all need to be committed to continuous learning.

It’s simple: Investing in the disrupted majority will strengthen the enterprise. Having a workforce with the knowledge and skills to leverage the latest technologies enables enterprises to stay competitive. It also future-proofs the workforce by providing your workers with the skills they need to succeed.

Enterprises benefit from the increased productivity that comes from helping workers do their jobs more effectively. Smart businesses can position themselves to attract and retain top talent by showcasing their commitment to training and education. And finally, AI presents an opportunity to question the way we do things now and the ability to do them differently in the future.

I’m an optimist. I believe every technology gives us a chance to do better. That includes AI. While I’m excited about AI itself, I’m just as excited about the opportunity to invest in our people. If we want to become AI-first companies tomorrow, we must become people-first companies today.