the COST of ‘just use ai’

AI will reshape work. the outcome depends on trust.

“Just use AI.” It’s a phrase showing up in more and more workplaces. Leaders want employees to stay current, explore new tools, and not fall behind. But when that message comes without guidance or alignment, it can backfire by creating confusion and fear.

For many employees, AI carries the shadow of replacement. Why should they eagerly train a tool that might one day take their place? That uncertainty can drive the rise of shadow AI, where employees adopt tools quietly and on their own terms. Not out of malice, but out of self-preservation.

This dynamic erodes trust. Workers know their roles and workflows better than anyone, and they’re often the first to spot where AI could meaningfully help or where it might create new risks. But for them to bring that insight forward, they need confidence that adoption is happening in good faith: that AI is being used to augment and improve, not simply to cut costs or thin teams.

There’s also a flaw in the short-term logic. Even when leaders imagine they can shed employees today, they rarely account for the long-term reality of innovation and growth. More automation doesn’t always mean fewer people. In fact, it often generates new needs: oversight, integration, training, quality control, customer support. In practice, many AI deployments lead to more human work, not less. Organizations that cut too deeply risk losing the very expertise they’ll need to evolve.

When AI is framed as a tool to push roles further and make products better, employees can engage with curiosity instead of fear. They’ll experiment, share learnings, and help shape adoption in ways that are sustainable and aligned with customer needs.

AI will reshape work, but the outcome depends on trust. Organizations that treat adoption as a collaborative effort—designed with employees, not imposed on them will not only get better results from AI, but also create stronger, more resilient teams.