Although generative AI has been gaining traction since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, employers still face an uphill battle convincing their workforce to embrace the new technology.
Only 12% of employees are already using generative AI and 11% intend to use it. The rest are still thinking about it or have no plans to use it, according to a survey of more than 1,100 respondents in professional services industries, including legal, tax and accounting, risk and fraud management, and government, conducted by Thomson Reuters earlier this year. While 81% of respondents say generative AI could be applied to their work, only 54% believe it could be applied should The most common concerns of respondents include the potential for AI to produce inaccurate answers, data security risks, privacy of the data it uses, compliance with laws and regulations, and ethical use and responsible.
For Mary-Alice Vuicic, Chief People Officer at Thomson Reuters, the results show that HR teams still have a lot of work to do to convince employees to integrate AI into their workflow.
“It’s a call to action for businesses and leaders to be much more proactive in making this a firm priority and an organizational priority, helping people understand it, [and] giving them a safe space to experiment and use it,” she says Fortune.
While Thomson Reuters has been using AI to some extent for nearly three decades, the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 prompted company leaders to reimagine how its employees should use the rapidly evolving technology. But first, they needed to find a way to engage workers. After launching ChatGPT, the company updated its internal policies, including its code of conduct, ethics, and guidance on how employees would use the technology safely.
Vuicic, who co-leads the company’s internal AI adoption strategy with the chief technology officer, says his team has focused heavily on communications efforts, an area that HR teams sometimes neglect, according to her, when adopting AI. Thomson Reuters launched a company-wide learning day in April 2023, focused on teaching the basics of AI and machine learning to employees. More than 6,000 employees participated in the AI and machine learning sessions on the day, and more than 10,000 have watched the company’s AI 101 session recording since. Soon after, questions about AI quickly replaced hybrid work as the number one topic for employee questions during town hall meetings or briefings.
This year, the company hosted another global learning day, where it shared internal adoption use cases. These include the use of AI for engineering, customer service support and case management for internal HR requests, allowing HR staff to focus on more important matters.
“I think people underestimate the importance of this,” Vuicic says. “Everyone’s reading the headlines and people are nervous…they’re wondering, ‘Am I going to get a job?’ What does this mean for me? For my children, as they choose their education? They’re looking for places to talk about it, so we went there in a very transparent, very open way.
In addition to its Global Learning Day, Reuters offered AI training to all employees, as well as a secure platform where workers could experiment with different AI tools, including ChatGPT. Training for non-technical employees included an introduction to AI and machine learning concepts, examples of how the company uses AI internally, and guidelines for responsible AI use. For technical employees, training included machine learning principles, using large language models, rapid engineering, and detailed information about the company’s AI platform and services.
Vuicic’s team found that after this training, the company saw an increase in worker productivity, accuracy, quality of employee output, time freed up from automation, and money saved from these improvements.
“Training and practical use to demystify [AI]that’s something we’ve been emphasizing here,” she says. “The ability for businesses, corporations and individuals to make training a priority, to make exposure a priority and to have hands-on experimentation – I think that will eliminate a lot of the hesitation.”
Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paid
Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
Around the table
An overview of the main HR news headlines.
Hedge fund Baupost Group has cut its investment teams across its real estate and equities businesses by around 19% as the firm reduces funding in those areas. Bloomberg
Rural retailer Tractor Supply has cut all of its diversity-related jobs and environmental initiatives following criticism from conservative communities. the wall street journal
Pfizer finally had a successful first quarter after its stock plunged last year, but the company still needs to re-engage employees who are worried about their careers after the crisis. CNBC
Water cooler
Everything you need to know Fortune.
Teachers in business. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says: colleges do not prepare students for the business worldbusiness leaders must therefore train them.Eleanor Pringle
Taxation. Junior Wall Street bankers are more often work more than 100 hours per weekwith little say over their work-life balance as investment firms increase their workload.Katherine Doherty, Bloomberg
Raise the bar. Massachusetts just created a Minimum wage of $32.50 for Uber and Lyft driversand the companies must pay a total of $175 million for violating state wage and hour laws. —Steve Leblanc, AP
