Leading workforce decisions on ethical AI

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes ubiquitous in business, conversations around ethical AI use are too. But today’s leaders are doing more than talking about ethics—they are making ethics part of their training, governance, and decision-making. These insights from our latest survey can help you do the same.

Four key takeaways

Our 100 respondents represented C-level president, board member, and partner/owner roles at US companies. Here’s how they are making decisions for their workforce on ethical AI.

1. Decisions around AI (mostly) come from the top
   Seventy-seven percent of executives agree their workforce is equipped to make decisions on the ethical use of AI on their own. But in practice, leaders are more often calling the shots—less than a quarter (24%) of respondents said professionals can make decisions independently about AI use in their organization. That number varies by company size, however. Fifty-two percent of executives at companies earning $1 billion or more in annual revenues indicate professionals can make these decisions independently.
   
   
2. Training takes priority in governance
   When asked what ethical AI governance structures their organizations have in place, delivering ethics-based trainings was the top response: 76% of respondents said their companies offer ethical AI trainings to their workforce, and 63% said their companies provide ethical AI trainings for their board of directors. Training was the most common application of governance, leading in responses ahead of ethical AI review committees (46%), risk management frameworks (44%), and compliance standards (24%), among other structures.
   
   
3. Innovation, regulation, and data use were key concerns
   When it comes to AI development and deployment, the most common priority reported was “balancing innovation and regulation” (62%). This was followed by ”ensuring transparency in data collection and use” (59%) and “addressing user data privacy concerns” (56%).
   
   
4. Leaders are largely looking to upskilling to fill AI roles
   To find, attract, and train professionals for new roles requiring ethical AI decision-making, leaders are primarily turning to internal training/upskilling programs (68%). However, 62% are still turning to traditional external recruitment pipelines (e.g., experienced hires) to find the right people. Fifty-three percent of respondents are also recruiting externally through less traditional pipelines (e.g., skills-based hires and seeking applicants without four-year degrees).