Why reputation is hindering AI and automation adoption

Although opinion is divided on whether the coronavirus crisis will hasten a move towards more automation, interested employers have a number of issues and challenges to address concerning artificial intelligence (AI) if they are to avoid possibly damaging their company's reputation. On the one hand, says Jen Rodvold, head of digital ethics and tech for good at digital transformation consultancy Sopra Steria, there has already been serious acceleration in the adoption of all kinds of digital technology to enable businesses to operate during lockdown. "As the economic picture sharpens, there'll be a continued focus on cost-cutting measures and AI could well be part of that," she says. Brian Kropp, chief of human resources research at market research company Gartner, on the other hand, believes that while the crisis will not necessarily alter pre-COVID-19 adoption rates, it will change the reasons behind adoption. "Until this year, investments were largely driven by the tight labour market and the number of qualified employees available," he says.