A new IBM study finds HR leaders and workers are out of step on judgment, accountability, and who has a say in AI strategy. 

As AI takes on more day-to-day tasks, there’s an increasing level of importance put on human judgment, critical thinking, and the ability to catch what AI gets wrong. But a new IBM study finds a disconnect between the skills CHROs and employees prioritize.  

IBM’s survey of 1,500 CHROs and 8,800 employees found that 71% of CHROs view the ability to supervise, validate, and override AI outputs as a workforce’s most important skill set. Comparatively, only 29% of employees rank that judgment as important. Sixty percent of employees, however, worry about skills erosion, most often citing critical thinking as declining. 

The study also points to a trust problem, with 43% of employees report that when something goes wrong with AI, the blame falls on them. In line with that, 41% of CHROs believe employees may not feel safe challenging or overriding AI outputs.  

HR’s ability to bridge the gap between them and employees may be difficult, though, when HR leaders may also lack a say in the strategy itself. Nearly half (46%) of organizations don’t involve the CHRO when AI strategy is being defined, and 73% of CHROs say they struggle to coordinate consistently across the C-suite. 

“AI is changing not only how work gets done, but where people can contribute the greatest value,” said Nickle LaMoreaux, senior vice president and CHRO at IBM. “As AI takes on more routine and process-driven tasks, uniquely human capabilities become even more important. CHROs have a critical role to play in redesigning the workplace of the future so people can focus on the areas where they can have the greatest impact.” 

Clarity could help close the gap. According to the study, organizations that clearly define which workflows are human-led, AI-assisted, or AI-executed see an 18% reduction in risk and a 20% improvement in quality. When the CHRO, at minimum, shares responsibility for deciding which decisions remain human-led, 76% of employees feel safe questioning or overriding AI recommendations, compared with 43% when HR is just advisory. 

IBM also found: 

• 57% of CHROs and 49% of employees say critical thinking and problem framing are among the skills that matter most in the AI era; 

• 80% of CHROs believe AI adoption creates “invisible” work for employees, like validating recommendations, fixing mistakes, and managing exceptions—and 42% of employees feel similarly, saying AI increases their workload or that their work goes unrecognized; and 

• among employees who worry about skills erosion, 3 in 4 say AI has already begun to erode at least some of their skills. 

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