Anxiety over AI advancements reached new levels last week, when a former Anthropic staffer took to social media to issue a stark warning: The people making this technology believe it could wipe out all of humanity in just a few years.

It may sound hyperbolic, but the proclamation highlighted the environment in which organizations—and HR, in particular—are working to drive AI adoption strategies, and the balance they must achieve between speed and safety.

In her first year at appliances, electrical and electronics manufacturing firm Fortive, Chief People Officer Amee Desjourdy has leaned into the reality that AI transformation, at its core, needs to be a people transformation.

"Originally, I don't think people realized how significant the people aspect of adoption was going to be," says Desjourdy, who joined Fortive, which employs 10,000 people, earlier this year from Hitachi.

Particularly in the wake of recent headlines about the dangers of AI, employee resistance is a real threat to adoption and, ultimately, AI integration success.

Building a strong foundation

Desjourdy says it's important to lay a strong foundation—to ensure all employees have common language about what AI is.

"We talk about AI as if it's this 'thing'; in reality, it's a lot of things. It can be intimidating for people who don't understand the difference between chatbots and generative AI," Desjourdy says. "And I've seen this not just with junior or mid-level employees but at senior executive levels; people are afraid."

Creating a baseline of education, she says, is the first line of defense against employee fear and resistance.

Employees must also feel they're part of the process.

"Engage the business owner—whether that's the operations team, finance, whoever the user of the solution is. When people feel they have a voice, that creates a sense of power in what's happening—as opposed to the scary soundbites about job replacement," she says.

HR is a natural place to start employees experimenting.

Read the full article here: