As AI becomes integrated into nearly every aspect of daily life, one major question remains for many companies: where does it belong in the workplace? Its use is becoming inevitable, as it is easily accessible and can make normally mundane and repetitive tasks easy and efficient. However, some companies are wary about integrity concerns, while others chose to embrace AI. This news roundup explores the growing role of AI in the workplace and its potential impact on the future of company culture.
AI’s impact on the job market is ‘inevitable,’ says workforce expert: ‘It’s going to hurt for certain parts of the population’ – CNBC
Earlier this year, a World Economic Forum report found that 48% of U.S. employers plan to reduce their workforce because of AI.
While not all recent job cuts have been directly linked to AI, several other major tech companies are also looking to reduce their headcount: in May, Microsoft announced that they plan to cut 3% of their workforce, and Google recently offered another round of buyouts through their “voluntary exit program” to employees across the company.
Using AI For PR? Be Creative, But Be Careful Too – Forbes
Whether it’s drafting a press release, building a media list or finding social media influencers online, AI has a wide range of applications for PR experts looking to secure results for their clients. Whereas drafting a press release once took an hour, the time spent can be cut to mere minutes now—thanks to AI. More and more PR professionals are trusting AI to reduce time spent on one activity—such as content creation—and leave more time for something else, like communications strategy or message development in a client meeting.
Just because something like a press release can be generated by AI does not mean that we should trust AI unconditionally. Now more than ever, we need to be careful with AI tools that streamline work processes. The AI platform PRophet is described as “human led” and “data fed,” and that makes a good point: PR must continue to be human-led.
Secret chatbot use causes workplace rifts – Axios
The big picture: Secret genAI use proliferates when companies lack clear guidelines, because favorite tools are banned or because employees want a competitive edge over coworkers.
Fear plays a big part too — fear of being judged and fear that using the tool will make it look like they can be replaced by it.
By the numbers: 42% of office workers use genAI tools like ChatGPT at work and 1 in 3 of those workers say they keep the use secret, according to research out this month from security software company Ivanti.
The Rise of Multimodal Interfaces in the Workplace | BizTech Magazine – Biztech
Of the 400 business decision-makers surveyed by AI voice platform provider Deepgram in 2023, 82% used some form of voice technology for a variety of reasons, including increasing productivity, revenues and operational efficiencies. The market for AI voice assistants is only expected to grow, and that growth will happen alongside continued advances in natural language processing, chips, graphics processing units, cloud computing and displays.
“Over the next few years, we are going to see a boom of AI assistants or AI agents — every person and organization will likely have one or multiple of these advanced AI companions,” writes Alex Velinov, CTO of Tag Digital, in his think piece, In AI We Trust.
5 ways that artificial intelligence is changing how we work – Britannica Money
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, coupled with high performance expectations for the sector, means that the price performance of AI stocks may be volatile. In other words, the “hot money” has been chasing the AI market since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, so a lot of future growth may already be priced into these stocks.
One way to get portfolio exposure to AI is by purchasing shares in large tech companies that are meaningfully engaged with the technology. Your exposure to AI specifically may be somewhat diluted, as these companies have other business units with their own profit and risk profiles. But this approach can benefit investors who may be more risk averse.
Many are turning to AI to escape from repetitive tasks in the workplace, new study reveals – New York Post
American workers’ productivity peaks at 11 a.m. on Mondays, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 knowledge workers revealed when respondents are most productive — and when they’re least productive, which was found to be Fridays at 12:06 p.m.
When asked what they’d find beneficial with an AI tool, employees highlighted having a tool that’s easy to use (49%) and can help draft emails for them (35%), as well as something that’s easy to prompt (35%). They’d also like a tool that can help with their repetitive tasks, with about a third of respondents wanting to use AI to sort data in a spreadsheet (34%) or draft notes in a meeting (33%).
Despite workers already using AI, less than half of respondents’ companies have a clear AI policy (38%). Still, 50% wish their workplace was more willing to embrace AI tools, with Gen Z the most likely to agree (67% vs. 59% of millennials and 45% of Gen X).
The Rise of Augmented Leadership: How AI Will Reshape the Workplace by 2035 – Finance Monthly
Large language models, once novelties, are now embedded across knowledge work. Generative AI drafts legal arguments. AI copilots help engineers write as much as a third of all new code. Autonomous agents handle logistics tasks without a single human click. These are no longer isolated tech hacks—they’re becoming standard team members.
As AI becomes more autonomous, human oversight must evolve in parallel. Leaders will be judged less by direct control and more by how thoughtfully they curate systems, set parameters, and prepare teams for oversight and escalation.
By 2035, the most effective leaders may not be those with the most power, but those who are best at orchestrating human-AI collaboration with clarity, purpose, and accountability.
Why Companies Are Already All-In on AI After Arriving Late to Everything Else – Wall Street Journal
Many potentially transformative applications of artificial intelligence remain hypothetical, of course. Researchers are still assessing the strengths and significant limits of reasoning models. Cybersecurity professionals emphasize the risk of connecting AI with private company data. And regulators, lawmakers and advocates want rules to protect humans on the whole from out-of-control AI.
There is another motivation for companies’ speedy adoption that lurks not so far behind all the others: Executives just don’t want to wake up behind the curve again. If their sectors are going to be as disrupted as everybody is telling them, this time they want to at least have a hand in events.
How will you ensure your AI in the workplace solutions get the media attention they deserve?
As AI in the workplace continues to rise, the need for clear, strategic communication has never been greater. FischTank PR is committed to building custom media relations and communications strategies for technology PR clients. As a top B2B and innovation tech PR firm covering GenAI, AI/ML, enterprise tech and more, we help forward-thinking companies earn meaningful exposure. If you’re interested in securing exposure for your company, reach out to us at [email protected].
***News roundup guest post from FischTank PR interns Abby Collins and Laura Gruener***
