Executives struggle to map AI workforce needs, survey finds

Many senior executives are pushing artificial intelligence into their companies without a clear view of how it will reshape jobs, according to new LinkedIn research reported by Fortune. The findings point to a leadership problem as much as a technology problem: companies are changing work faster than many leaders can measure or explain.

LinkedIn surveyed 1,252 C-suite leaders in the U.S., U.K. and India, Fortune reported. Half of those executives said they do not have a clear picture of the roles and skills their organizations will need as AI develops, a gap LinkedIn described as a workforce blind spot.

The same survey found that 78% of C-suite leaders said their companies are moving more quickly on AI than they can effectively measure. Mark Lobosco, LinkedIn’s chief business officer, told Fortune that executives are trying to handle the shift without a reliable playbook.

Lobosco said some parts of companies may be slow to change because their existing responsibilities reward caution or protect the current model. He told Fortune that change efforts can fail if leaders issue orders from the top without bringing employees into the process.

At the same time, Lobosco said executives cannot hand off AI adoption and expect credibility. Leaders need to use the tools themselves, he told Fortune, because employees will notice if senior managers ask them to adopt technology they do not understand.

LinkedIn’s survey also found that 82% of C-suite leaders said new AI-related jobs have appeared inside their companies since 2022. Lobosco cited examples including AI engineers, responsible AI architects, go-to-market engineers and forward-deployed engineers, according to Fortune.

The problem, according to Fortune’s account of LinkedIn’s research, is that many of the leaders creating those jobs still cannot say what the surrounding workforce will look like over the next two years. Lobosco said companies are still acting, but remain unsure where the changes will lead.

Inside LinkedIn, Lobosco said his focus has been narrower than turning every employee into an expert user of AI. He told Fortune he is building systems that reduce administrative work and give commercial teams more time with customers, with the aim of preserving work that depends on judgment, creativity and relationships.

Other executives and advisers cited by Fortune described similar tensions. Carolyn Dewar, founder of McKinsey’s CEO practice, wrote in a Fortune column that the execution habits rewarded over the past decade have become a liability in an environment shaped by AI and geopolitical uncertainty.

Dewar argued that leaders now need judgment, imagination and strategic courage under uncertainty, according to Fortune. Fortune also reported that Okta President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Kelleher told a COO Summit audience that the hardest part of AI transformation is changing how managers think about labor, including the split between human workers and digital workers.

LinkedIn’s broader labor market data shows global hiring remains 20% to 30% below pre-pandemic levels, Fortune reported. That backdrop adds pressure on executives who are trying to learn new tools, redesign organizations and keep business results on track at the same time.

Lobosco compared the current AI shift with the early adoption of electricity, according to Fortune: companies first attached the new technology to older systems before redesigning work around it. His view, as reported by Fortune, is that many companies are still early in that longer redesign.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.