Intended audience: leaders looking to win at the long game in a world that changes faster than many can adapt.
Note that AI was used to research workforce trends and latest statistics but the qualitative examples, analysis, and conclusions are my own.
I had an interesting conversation the other day about the future of creative work. The young man challenges his LinkedIn audience to think what would make someone stand out if everyone has the same access to the same AI tools. There were many comments praising human qualities and human creativity. However, this discourse pointed at a deeply flawed way we think about the nature of work, AI, creativity, and being human in an increasingly automated world.
It’s not “we have access to the same AI tools…” It’s “we have access to the same tools.” Just tools. Not AI. Full stop. This thought is older than AI. What made someone a resilient, creative, enthusiastic professional hasn’t changed. I’m worried that by chasing the next big thing many leaders forget, or set aside, something that we knew for a long time already.
Trillions for tools, pennies for people.
Don’t take my word for it. Here are some hard stats to support my thesis:
- 74% report increased IT & Software investment yet many still rely on manual, disconnected processes that create false sense of control until real-world demands expose the gaps [1][2]
- Department of Education shows that British employers reduced their investment in staff training by £6bn in 2024, compared to 2022 levels [3] yet UK business investment in AI is due to raise by 40% [4]
- While the industry celebrates AI’s potential to “unleash creativity” the reality on the ground is one of increasing “technostress” and “change exhaustion” [5]
It used to be that businesses invested in people. Now businesses invest in AI. The declines in training expenditure is particularly alarming given the pace of technological change and raising complexity of work. The result is a workforce that is being asked to do more with complex tools but with less institutional support for learning how to use them safely and strategically.
This led to the raise of “Shadow AI”, where employees, eager to be productive but left untrained, use unapproved AI tools at work. In the UK, 68% report that staff use shadow AI tools, which already led to data or IP exposure in 44% of businesses [6]. This phenomenon is the ultimate evidence of my hypothesis that businesses are forgetting to invest in people.
Signals that businesses are investing in humans again
There are tentative signals out there that people investment is on the rebound.
McKinsey Forward programme has a strong focus on adaptability, effective communication, relationship building, problem-solving, and digital and AI essentials. Notice how digital and AI essentials are at the bottom of the list.
Deloitte US released a report called “In a new era of work, winning organisations will build the human advantage,” that outlines the importance of building adaptability, resilience, and creativity. Those human skills. It’s funny that this report is dated 4 March and I’m writing this blog 10 days later. Great minds think alike!
IBM SkillsBuild is committed to training 2 million people in AI by the end of 2026. The program focuses on “essential workplace skills”, critical thinking, and integrity.
Lloyds Banking Group surveyed 1,200 UK companies and found that more firms are planning to invest in their staff (35%) than in AI technology itself (33%) in 2026.
Why is this important?
As a future designer I’m paid to think about long horizons. As a human-centred AI advocate I’m loving the shift towards investing in humans. As a service designer I want to design services that will support me in my old age. As a design leader sometimes tasked with building design capability and design thinking withing organisations, I sometimes want to scream:
“What AI? What adoption roadmap? Sweep your house first! You have managers who don’t know how to be managers! You have people that lack basic skills to do their jobs properly! Train them first, then we can talk about AI.”
It’s important because in a world that changes every five minutes, in a world where everyone has the same tools, the true differentiator will be human creativity.
