Survey shows Canadians are lagging when it comes to training, ethical use of new tech
The use of AI — especially generative AI — is helping to boost productivity, according to a recent survey.
In Canada, 63% of respondents say AI makes them more productive and 33% say they would find an employer who regularly deployed the technology to be more attractive to them.
Some even believe (34%) that mastering AI could result in a promotion, according to the survey by Salesforce.
“I don’t know the last time I’d read a survey where a professional said learning how to build a mobile app or a website, or implementing any technology, could help them get promoted. We saw strong responses in terms of AI,” says Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce in Boston.
The survey heard from 14,000 global workers across 14 countries, including Canada, between Oct. 18 and 31.
Red flags around generative AI
However, the tech’s ubiquity is raising some red flags, says Afshar.
“Gen AI is penetrating the workplace fast, maybe faster than any other technology that we’ve experienced and so there’s lack of lack of oversight.”
More than half (54%) of workers said they have passed off AI work as their own and 31% would consider inflating their own AI skills, found the survey.
“Workers are using unapproved, generative AI tools at work even while recognizing that it’s important to employ ethical and safe use cases for gen AI. One in four Canadian professionals are currently using or experimenting with gen AI at work, and almost six out of 10 are using it without approval from employers,” says Afshar.
HR professionals should learn all they can about AI at work, due to “more intense integration” into HR processes in 2024, predicts another expert.
Main AI risks in the workplace
Clearly, there is a need for employers and organizations to establish ground rules around its usage, especially when it comes to legal risks, says an employment lawyer.
“An issue that’s actually been around for a while is the concern that the use of AI tools in the recruitment process can have implications under human rights legislation,” says Kelly O’Ferrall, partner, employment and labour at Osler in Ottawa.
“For example, if an employer is using an AI tool to filter through job applicants or to choose a successful job applicant, and that results in discrimination or bias in hiring on the basis of a protected ground under human rights legislation, that can leave the employer open to a human rights claim.”
In addition, there’s the concern about workers trying to pass off AI output as their own, according to O’Ferrall.
“One risk that has come up is related to plagiarism: content generated through these AI tools [which] don’t necessarily provide sources for information; they may infringe on the copyrights rights of other organizations and it’s a difficult thing to catch. You almost need another AI tool to check for plagiarism on anything that’s being used more publicly.”
Confidentiality is another concern, she says.
“If employees are uploading confidential information into these search tools, it may become more broadly accessible. Similarly, with privacy concerns related to personal information and personal information, if that is being uploaded into AI tools, that information may be more broadly accessible and that could be offside of privacy legislation.”
AI’s impact on engagement, retention
Also of note for HR: rolling out a suite of new AI-powered work tools could have a negative effect that many might not immediately perceive, says O’Ferrall.
There could arise “employee-relations concerns, especially in certain workplaces, where many jobs could potentially be replaced by the use of AI tools. You can see that causing maybe not necessarily legal issues, but more concerns amongst employees and maybe issues with retention where employees think that they don’t have secure positions.”
However, judging by the survey, AI is having a positive effect, says Afshar.
“It has contextual intelligence that goes beyond search, and it’s not surprising 45% of Canadians in the survey said it’s making them more engaged because they have access to information quickly, because they can vet the efficacy of the information, they’re more likely to share and collaborate with colleagues or customers or partners.”
More education needed on artificial intelligence
In order to keep up the positive momentum that many of these workers are seeding, training is crucial, says Afshar. However, many Canadian organizations are lacking in this key area.
“About 24% of Canadian professionals have completed or received training [and] that compares to 31% globally, so about seven percentage points less than global workers. Nineteen percent of Canadian professionals have completed training on how to use gen AI ethically compared to 29% globally, a 10-point difference, and 22% of Canadian professionals have received training on safe use of generative AI and this is compared to 31% of the global workforce,” says Afshar.
Offering education is important but it’s also key “having policies in place that lay these things out in detail, how employees are permitted to use it, and some of the caution they should be exercising in doing so,” says O’Ferrall.
More training is sorely needed to better understand the technology, says another report.
‘Stay on top of technological developments’
Organizations should also be mindful that the AI technology changes often.
“If employers are going to permit the use of AI, it’s important to stay on top of technological developments as well as legal developments to ensure that they’re being responsive to those as well,” says O’Ferrall.
In the end, organizations should be aware that AI is not going to fade away anytime soon and employers should be prepared for its future implementations.
“Canadian workers are hungry to learn how to properly use gen AI so helping your workforce to master these technologies will not only drive employee productivity and business efficiencies, it will also create happy, loyal employees who will deliver a better outcome,” says Afshar.
