Latest news with #WalidHejazi
Globe and Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Is AI helping workers and improving productivity or just creating more work?
Do a simple internet search and you will find dozens of articles touting how artificial intelligence will allow employees to work faster and be more productive: 'AI could save workers 12 hours per week,' '5 ways to turn AI's time-saving magic into your productivity superpower,' 'Amazon's CEO says its AI tool has saved a crazy amount of time,' and so on. But many workers using AI tools say the new technology is making their jobs harder. A study last year by the Upwork Research Institute in the U.S. found 47 per cent of employees using AI say they had no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect, and 77 per cent say these tools actually added to their workload. 'I think it's such a huge wake-up call for business leaders that we have to do something differently,' says Gabriela Burlacu, a senior research manager at Upwork and one of the authors of the study. 'Executives have such high expectations of the productivity impacts of AI,' she says. 'But I think a step that has been skipped is understanding from the perspective of the employees being asked to use the tools.' Walid Hejazi, a professor of economic analysis and policy at University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and director of its executive training programs, says he's not surprised by the study's findings. He oversees courses to help both business leaders and employees understand the potential of generative AI. 'AI is not a strategy. AI is a tool to achieve a strategy,' he says. 'And very often organizations are not putting the thought into how to integrate AI into achieving their strategy. Very often it's just thrown to the employee to say, here, [Microsoft] Co-Pilot or ChatGPT, use it.' 'Currently [AI] is not integrated into workflows,' Prof. Hejazi continues. 'It's just there as an add-on. And people are having real difficulty thinking, 'When should I use it? When shouldn't I use it? If I do use it, is it plagiarism?' People don't know that.' While AI can complete certain tasks faster than humans, Prof. Hejazi adds, management often overlooks the new tasks it creates. For example, ChatGPT might generate a five-page summary in a few seconds, but the user still needs to edit and fact-check it. 'My bosses are looking at me and saying, 'Well, ChatGPT did this [summary]. What else have you been doing?'' Organizations and workers are also struggling to keep up with the pace of AI development, says Keka DasGupta, vice-chair of the board for CERIC, a Canadian nonprofit supporting career and employment professionals. 'As soon as you get one [AI] program that's good and people learn it, a new system comes out and it's 10 times faster, 100 times faster,' says Ms. DasGupta, who is also a corporate leadership trainer and regularly works with HR professionals trying to implement artificial intelligence in their workplaces. 'And then we have to re-learn, we have to pivot all over again.' Another obstacle to reaping the full benefits of AI, Ms. Burlacu says, is a lack of imagination: Companies often limit AI's impact by using it only to automate existing processes. She recalls working at a company that produced HR software. Clients typically used it to automate tasks done manually for years, such as annual performance reviews. However, the software could support more dynamic, continuous performance management – opportunities they missed by not redesigning their approach. 'We really need to be innovating how we're structured, how work is done, how work flows through the organization in order to see that greater productivity,' she says. To implement AI successfully, Prof. Hejazi says corporate leaders must determine how AI fits into their overall strategy, clearly communicate expectations around AI to employees and provide proper training. 'Change is hard in the best of times,' he says. 'And with something this transformative, you really have to prepare the organization.' Ms. DasGupta says companies should gather internal feedback about how employees are coping with the AI transition. 'We get these kinds of surveys that tell us how 77 per cent of the [overall] work force is feeling,' she says, referring to the Upwork study. 'I would ask HR managers, 'Do you have those specific data points for your employees?' If you don't, it's really important to know what their experiences are like in order to improve their productivity.' And for all the emphasis on the increased efficiency and productivity AI can deliver, Ms. Burlacu says corporate leaders need to think beyond quantity and speed. 'A big thing that we're seeing with organizations that are successfully bringing their workers along the journey is using AI as a learning tool,' she says. 'As a tool to be more creative, to try different things. It's not necessarily working faster or doing more work but just doing things differently.'
Toronto Star
04-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Canada is on the brink of a recession. Here's what you can do right now to protect your finances
'If there are tariffs that make trade between Canada and the U.S. more difficult, that could really hurt the Canadian economy and a lot of Canadian jobs,' says Walid Hejazi, professor of economic analysis and policy at Toronto's Rotman School of Management.
