June 27, 2025
Workplace AI doesn’t appear to be having a negative effect on wellbeing for now, research suggests
A new study published in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports offers a cautiously optimistic view of how artificial intelligence is affecting workers’ wellbeing. Contrary to common fears, the research finds no clear evidence that AI exposure is harming workers’ mental health or job satisfaction. In some cases, it may even be contributing to small improvements in physical health, particularly among workers without a college degree. (more…)
June 26, 2025
UK architects embrace AI more and more, although concerns about creativity remain
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) among UK architects has risen sharply over the past year, according to a new report published by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The 2025 RIBA AI Report reveals that nearly six in ten architecture practices now make use of AI tools, up from 41 percent last year. The data suggests a growing belief within the profession that digital technologies can support rather than replace architectural practice. (more…)
June 26, 2025
Generational divide emerges on workplace AI
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the world of work, younger employees are taking the lead in adopting and experimenting with new tools. According to a new survey by UKG and The Harris Poll, Gen Z workers are not only the most enthusiastic users of workplace AI but also the most likely to be self-taught. The research highlights a growing generational divide. While 84 percent of U.S. employees overall say they want AI to handle workplace processes, Gen Z – those aged 18 to 28 – are particularly eager. Ninety percent believe AI will save them time at work, with nearly a third expecting to reclaim up to 90 minutes a day. They’re also the most likely to have taken the initiative to learn AI skills independently, with 70 percent teaching themselves the tools they use. (more…)
June 25, 2025
New study suggests AI could be the key to workplace wellbeing
A new report from audio brand Jabra, in collaboration with The Happiness Research Institute, claims that daily users of artificial intelligence tools are more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction and optimism about their working lives. The study, Work and Wellbeing in the Age of AI [registration] is based on a survey of over 3,700 knowledge workers across 11 countries, including 360 in the UK. According to the report, UK respondents who use AI tools daily, referred to as “AI Advocates”, were 31.5 percent more satisfied in their jobs than those who do not use AI regularly. The researchers describe this figure for overall workplace wellbeing as being more than twice the global average difference between regular and infrequent AI users. (more…)
June 16, 2025
Government partners with tech firms to boost AI skills of UK workforce
The Government has announced a new initiative aimed at equipping UK workers with the skills needed to adapt to the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the workplace. The AI Opportunity Forum brings together major technology companies and business groups in a partnership designed to expand access to AI skills training across the country. Led jointly by Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan and Microsoft UK CEO Clare Barclay, the forum includes firms such as Google, Amazon, IBM, and PwC, along with organisations including the CBI and the Trades Union Congress. It will focus on practical ways to help individuals and businesses make the most of AI technologies and ensure the UK’s workforce can adapt to their growing use. (more…)
June 9, 2025
Rise of AI gives us a chance to rediscover a world beyond the screen
Over the past three decades monitors have colonised desks in workplaces, homes and in public spaces, with the presence of a screen often signalling that something productive is taking place. This assumption may now be under quiet revision with implications for technology, management, and workplace culture. The growing maturity of artificial intelligence agents is having an incremental but significant impact on how we work. AI is now more capable of carrying context across tasks, acting independently, and responding through natural language, which is leading to the need for visual interfaces to be reduced. If scheduling, communication, analysis, and recall can be handled by systems that operate through conversation or ambient cues, the screen starts to look less essential and more habitual. (more…)
May 27, 2025
Gallup report suggests that firms and their employees are not on the same page when it comes to AI
A new Gallup study suggests there is a notable gap between corporate enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) and employee preparedness to integrate the technology into their everyday work. While ninety-three percent of Fortune 500 Chief Human Resources Officers say they have begun to integrate AI into their organisations, only thirty-three percent of employees are aware. Despite growing investment in AI, employee use remains limited. Nearly seventy percent of workers say they never use AI in their roles, and only ten percent engage with tools on a weekly basis. White-collar workers are more likely to use the technology, with fifteen percent reporting weekly usage, compared to just nineteen percent of production and frontline employees who say they use it at all. (more…)
May 19, 2025
Meh. Generative AI in the workplace is delivering modest returns that don’t match the hype
A new study by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research has cast doubt on the immediate transformative impact of artificial intelligence in the workplace, finding that the use of generative AI chatbots has so far delivered only modest gains in productivity and almost no increase in pay or reductions in working hours for employees. The working paper [restricted access], authored by economists Anders Humlum and Emilie Vestergaard, used detailed Danish employment data to assess the real-world effects of AI adoption across 7,000 workplaces and 25,000 workers, focusing on white-collar roles most susceptible to automation—such as accountants, IT support staff, journalists, HR professionals, and software developers. (more…)
May 19, 2025
Not waving but drowning. People feel optimistic about the use of AI in the workplace … and swamped by it
As the use of AI in the workplace continues to rise, new research from Henley Business School reveals that while optimism about AI’s potential is on the rise, so is the feeling of being overwhelmed by its rapid development. A poll of 4,640 adults across nearly 30 major sectors, commissioned by The World of Work Institute at Henley Business School, reveals that over half (56 percent) of full-time professionals feel optimistic about AI advancements, yet 61 percent admit they are overwhelmed by the pace of change. (more…)
April 29, 2025
Half of businesses who have made people redundant in favour of AI think they may have messed up
A new poll from Orgvue claims that 39 percent of business leaders who have deployed AI in their firms have already made employees redundant. Of those, 55 percent think there’s a good chance they made wrong decisions about those redundancies. Orgvue first conducted its international survey of 1,000 C-suite and senior decision makers at medium and large organisations in 2024. This year, the research highlights what Orgvue says is growing caution in deploying artificial intelligence and acknowledgment that businesses need to reskill people to work with the technology. (more…)
April 23, 2025
AI ushers in the era of the ‘frontier firm’, Microsoft report claims
A new report from Microsoft claims that 2025 will mark a new point in the evolution of work, with organisations across the globe now entering what it calls the age of the ‘Frontier Firm’. The report defines this as a ‘future-facing business model in which a combination of artificial intelligence and human collaboration reshapes work processes and redefines the very structure of enterprises’. The 2025 Work Trend Index, published by Microsoft’s WorkLab, claims to draw on one of the most comprehensive datasets to date, combining insights from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, thousands of Microsoft 365 ‘productivity signals’, and labour market trends derived from LinkedIn’s global data. The report argues that AI is no longer a novel addition to the workplace — it is becoming central to how work is done, who does it, and what organisations can achieve. (more…)
June 22, 2025
Data centres are the real powerhouses behind AI
by Anna King • AI, Comment