AI Adoption Barrier That Managers Might Overlook, Says Duke Researchers

Employees who use AI tools at work are seen as less competent and less motivated by their peers, according to a new study from Duke University.

“Our findings reveal a dilemma for people considering adopting AI tools: Although AI can enhance productivity, its use carries social costs,” the researchers wrote in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or PNAS.

Social penalties for using AI at work

The study, titled “The Social Penalties of AI Assistance,” explored the disconnect between the documented benefits of using AI and people’s reluctance to use it.

The Duke team conducted four experiments involving more than 4,400 participants, analyzing attitudes from both AI users and those who observed their behavior. The results showed a consistent bias: Individuals who received help from AI were judged more harshly than those who did not.

Observers often assumed that AI users lacked the ability or motivation to complete tasks on their own, attributing their reliance on technology to “personal deficits” rather than situational factors, the study found. This perception held across various demographic groups.

Across the four experiments, the researchers found:

• People who use AI believe they will be viewed as lazier, less competent, and less diligent than people who receive similar help from non-AI technologies. Those fears were justified: Observers view people who get help from AI as lazier, less competent, and less diligent than people who get help from other sources.
• Managers who do not use AI themselves may act on their negative assumptions of people who use AI and not hire them.
• Also in a hiring scenario, perceptions of laziness justified this decision. However, when AI was viewed as useful for an assigned task or an AI tool was used by a manager, those negative perceptions declined.

To use AI or not use AI — that becomes the question

The researchers said the results confirmed their prediction that individuals who rely on AI tools are often judged more harshly by others in the workplace. While much research has been done to understand why people are reluctant to use AI at work despite its benefits, not much has been done to explore the social evaluation consequences, the report noted.

“… people may choose not to use AI — or not to disclose their use of AI — if they expect to incur a social penalty. We propose that this social evaluation penalty is an overlooked barrier to AI adoption,” the researchers concluded in the report.

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