As business leaders and government officials gather in the UK today for the world’s first AI safety summit, new research reveals that employers are still failing to consider the risks AI poses in their rush to adopt new technology.

According to new data published by Herbert Smith Freehills, 88% of business leaders in multinational companies have already implemented, or are in the final planning stages of introducing, a range of AI-driven business solutions.

However, around one-in-five employers admit to not consulting employee representatives about upcoming changes and nearly one-in-three also fail to consult external advisers.

Emma Rohsler, head of Herbert Smith Freehills’ EMEA employment practice, says: “As the digital revolution accelerates, employers are eager to adopt new technology with significant impacts on the workforce.

“They accept that doing so will shake up the way employees are used to working, but a surprising number are rushing ahead without consultation or consideration of the impact that these changes might have for their employees, including their morale.”

In exploring the type of AI tech now in the workplace, the law firm’s data reveals that more than half of those questioned have already introduced employee monitoring in the workplace (58%). 

Over half now use or plan to adopt in the future AI for customer service (53%). Some are also already implementing, or planning to implement, AI solutions for clerical tasks (44%) or information gathering (42%).

The findings form part of a new HSF report, “Balancing Acts”, which explores the future of work. The latest report is the third in the series, with the first released before the covid-19 pandemic. It is based on research among c-suite respondents in global organisations, with an annual revenue of at least £250m.

The report also found that as regulators, investors, and consumers increase scrutiny on organisations, employers are increasingly determined to use AI for tasks previously undertaken by workers.

Almost half (44%) of respondents claim they automate allocation of tasks and just over one-third (38%) use AI for creative tasks such as copy writing or design.

Asked whether employees are likely to react to the changes driven by AI over the next five years, just 34% of business leaders suggested emerging technologies may be a trigger. The figure represents a fall from 41% when the question was asked in 2021.

The report also suggests just 28% of employers always give employees, or their representatives, a say in implementation of AI technologies and just over half (52%) actively test employee reactions before full implementation.

HSF’s findings are timely given that over 100 civil society groups criticised the UK government’s AI Summit this week for ignoring workers’ voices.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, the organisations, which include human rights groups, unions, and AI experts, warned that the two-day summit, starting today, was “overly focused on speculation about the remote ‘existential risks’ of ‘frontier’ AI systems” rather than the real-world harms workers are already facing.

“For many millions of people in the UK and across the world, the risks and harms of AI are not distant – they are felt in the here and now,” the letter states, highlighting the risk of being “fired from your job by algorithm”.

Given the widely report dangers of algorithmic decision-making, advice from outside counsel on implementing AI is critical. But, according to HSF, just 38% of employers always consult external lawyers on the employment law implications of AI.

This is surprising as 60% of respondents say AI adoption will significantly impact the composition of their workforce and a similar proportion (61%) recognise the need to substantially change workforce policies over the next three years to address the challenges of automation.

“Employers may be underestimating the risk as implementing ambitious technological changes without consultation may expose organisations to legal and financial risks. It can be hard to resist the promises of AI, especially when competitors seem to be active, but there are benefits to holding back,” says Rohsler.

“Being first to market may be exciting, but being right, recognising risks, and preparing for them increases the chances that companies who adopt a considered approach are more likely to reap the benefits in the long term.”