The risks and benefits of using AI in business

I just had a conversation with a colleague about how the combination of Siri and Generative AI means I feel like I have lost the ability to do simple tasks myself. If there is a window and my phone, I will ask my phone what the weather is like before I look out the window.

As with any technology, there are real benefits we can explore – like increased humanitarian responsiveness in a crisis - and real risks we need to be prepared for – like trusting AI too much.

As we move toward 2026, organizations seem to be getting their arms around basic uses of generative AI and are moving toward ways they can integrate Agentic AI to make simple decisions that will allow employees to focus on work that requires a human brain – like innovations and more complicated reasoning. Here are some things to consider in this new age of AI.

Generative AI saves time and levels the playing field

In our Workplace Wellbeing report, we shared that 32% of employees frequently experience stress and 26% say they are frequently overwhelmed. More companies are looking to do more work with less, and as that pressure falls on employees, any opportunity to save time can be good for the business and for people’s wellbeing. It is hard to argue with that. Now, 67% of employees say AI boosts their productivity. Generative AI can not only save employees time – it can also help level the playing field for those who think differently.

According to Northwestern Medicine, 15-20% of people show signs of neurodivergence, including people that have demonstrated excellence in their fields, from Albert Einstein to Tim Burton to Simone Biles. Those that are neurodivergent have a lot to offer to the world, especially if more challenging tasks can be made simpler by technology.

A business owner with dyslexia can use generative AI to clean up an email before sending. A student with ADHD can use generative AI to break down a more complicated task into simpler steps that will allow them to accomplish more in less time.

Generative AI can also lead loss of skill and errors

There are also reasons for businesses to be cautious in their use of generative AI. In a very Gen X example, I’ll ask you to remember how capable you were at math before you were able to use a calculator in school, and then after. Once you had a calculator in your hand, suddenly your times tables went out the window and you needed to check what 8 times 8 really was.

As people have access to shortcuts, they can lose skills they need to be productive all throughout their day.

Now imagine you’re back in math class, but you can’t trust your calculator to be accurate. Now your reliance on the tool can lead to errors. In a recent survey by Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft the more employees trust AI, the less likely they are to check its outputs. Consider the high profile example of when the Chicago Sun-Times published a list of 15 summer reading books including 10 that didn’t exist.

With only 36% of companies having guidance for AI usage, and with more than a quarter of employees sharing they frequently feel overwhelmed, the chance that employees will take risky shortcuts increases. This is an opportunity for companies to get control of how and when employees are using AI. It is also an opportunity to build in training – much like we do to prevent phishing attacks – that reminds employees of the risk of trusting Generative AI systems.

This is also an opportunity for managers to have conversations with employees about when and how AI use is appropriate and when it can lead to risks. From an individual perspective, employees should consider how often they choose to use AI. Are simple tasks starting to feel difficult? Have you lost skills rather than grown your capabilities in the last year? Consider which tasks are supported by and AI assist and which you should push through on your own to get better outcomes.

An uncertain future

With Generative AI tools settling into the workforce, there are now increased opportunities for Agentic – or AI that can make decisions – to influence the workforce. As AI increases in complexity, the potential benefits and risks also increase. Will AI increasingly replace human employees? Or will those employees be able to more quickly grow from simple, redundant tasks to more meaningful work? Will the rising use of AI just exacerbate an escalating climate crisis? Or will it allow humans to solve more complex problems more quickly. This remains to be seen.

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