Employees eye shortcuts despite company AI rules, report says

“Employees increasingly see AI as a tool for efficiency or leverage, not a shared risk,” the report read.

The latest insight into the secretive use of AI follows a recent Cox Business survey of more than 1,000 Gen Z and Millennial employees in the US that found younger employees were hesitant to admit they use the technology because of fear of losing work.

Disconnect in values

Reasons for the unauthorised use could be vary from blind faith in leadership and confusion about company policies.

The report found that 84% of employees are somewhat or very confident that their company’s CEO or IT team would be able to catch an AI-led breach, while frontline employees, 21% said their company’s AI policies were unclear, so they use AI as they wish.

Being disconnected from the company’s values may also be a factor, as 30% of frontline staff said they don’t care about their company’s AI policy and 37% said they won’t feel guilty if they broke AI protocol.