Change Mandates and AI Adoption
Can a corporate mandate help clear the AI trust chasm?
That’s the question prompted by a leaked report late last week that Microsoft is addressing lagging internal adoption of its own AI tools by making their use mandatory.
It’s an interesting development to say the least, especially in the context of Microsoft’s problems with its frenemy/business partner OpenAI, which is looking to acquire a competitor to Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot.
But the corporate mandate is also a more common move than you might expect.
I know the skeptical reaction is, “If these tools are really that good, shouldn’t people just want to adopt them?” However, that’s never how technology transitions happen in the workplace (at least not fully).
People have a lot going on in their day-to-day at work, and many feel overwhelmed by having a new tool foisted upon them. That’s why technology transitions typically do involve a leadership mandate in addition to teams working on the technical implementation and human elements (e.g., training) of a change.
And as cynical as people typically are about making changes at work, it looks like AI tools are may face an even steeper trust gap than usual. Earlier this month, change management specialists Prosci put out a report on AI adoption challenges. Two stats from it really stood out to me:
Executives have about 3x the level of trust in AI tools as front-line workers
Organizations with “very smooth” adoption of AI tools have much, much stronger leadership support than those that struggle
They didn’t dig into the causes of that AI trust gap, but we can make educated guesses: hallucinations, fake sources, security concerns, inherent bias, etc. The usual suspects. Plus, a healthy dose of concern thanks to CEOs like Duolingo’s and Klarna’s outright trying to replace people with AI models that frankly...stink.
But the second data point shows that organizations have found they can overcome this trust chasm with enough leadership support.
So where does that leave Microsoft? Pretty much on a typical workplace technology adoption path, honestly. Even if the optics are cringe-inducing. If there’s change to be made, leadership direction, and even mandates, are necessary to that change.
Of course, it’ll remain to be seen if this adoption actually results in the productivity gains that the execs are hoping for, or if their workers’ cynicism was well founded.