AI literacy is the new boardroom risk

Alex Rumble at HTEC argues that enterprises must embed AI understanding across every role - from intern to C-suite - or risk being exposed by the widening tech skills gap

 

AI spending will grow to over $644 billion in 2025, yet companies are staring down a 50% talent gap and growing skills shortages. The real risk, however, isn’t technology itself — it’s what leaders and teams don’t understand about it.

 

But here’s what most boardrooms are missing: this isn’t just a hiring problem or a training challenge. AI literacy has quickly become a cornerstone of corporate responsibility, transforming from a "nice-to-have" tech competency into a fundamental business risk that demands immediate boardroom attention. Companies are discovering that their biggest AI risk isn’t the technology but their people’s understanding of it.

 

 

No literacy, no compliance

Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index found that 82% of leaders say this is a pivotal year to rethink key aspects of strategy and operations, while IBM research shows AI spending outside traditional IT operations could surge by 52% in the next year. Yet nearly half of executives say their people lack the knowledge and skills to implement and scale AI effectively across the enterprise.

 

When employees deploy AI tools without understanding their limitations, companies face everything from data privacy breaches to algorithmic bias in decision-making. When teams work with external AI providers that may not fully grasp business demands or operational context, organisations lose critical control over compliance and strategic alignment.

 

The regulatory landscape is crystallising these concerns into legal requirements. As governments worldwide develop AI governance frameworks, companies that haven’t invested in organisation-wide AI literacy will find themselves scrambling to demonstrate compliance.

 

Consider the immediate risks: Marketing teams using generative AI without understanding copyright implications, finance departments implementing automated decision-making without recognising bias potential, and operations teams deploying AI solutions without grasping data security requirements. Each uninformed deployment creates liability exposure that traditional risk management frameworks weren’t designed to handle.

 

 

Why everyone needs AI fluency

The traditional approach of training a few specialists – an ivory tower approach – while leaving the rest of the workforce behind is no longer sustainable. Microsoft’s research shows that during core work hours, employees are interrupted every two minutes by meetings, emails, or chats 275 times daily. This capacity crisis is driving demand for AI solutions, but without proper literacy, implementation often fails.

 

What’s needed is AI literacy that enables informed decision-making at every level. This means understanding when AI is appropriate, recognising its limitations, and knowing how to evaluate AI-generated outputs critically.

 

The generational expectations are particularly telling. Gen Z employees increasingly expect employers to demonstrate responsible approaches to emerging technology, including transparency and upskilling, not just innovation. Recent surveys show that 52% of Gen Z believe schools should be required to teach AI literacy, while 49% worry it will harm their critical thinking skills. 

 

This creates a talent retention risk that many organisations underestimate. Companies that fail to provide comprehensive AI education struggle to attract and retain the very workforce that will drive their digital transformation.

 

 

The AI literacy payoff

The performance gap between AI-literate and traditional organisations is becoming undeniable. Microsoft’s research identified "Frontier Firms", companies with organisation-wide AI deployment and advanced AI maturity, where 71% of workers say their company is thriving, compared to just 37% globally. These employees are significantly more likely to take on additional work and report having opportunities for meaningful work.

 

The most successful organisations combine automation with education. Companies using AI to address labour and skills shortages report success across multiple areas, but these benefits only materialise when organisations invest in comprehensive education programmes. Organisations that approach AI education strategically gain multiple advantages: accelerated deployment timelines, reduced implementation costs, and sustainable competitive advantages through AI-enabled innovation.

 

IBM research shows that 87% of executives expect jobs to be augmented rather than replaced by generative AI, making human-AI collaboration skills essential across all roles, not just technical positions.

 

 

Building AI literacy

Smart companies are treating AI education like cybersecurity training: mandatory, regular, and tailored to role requirements. This means different curricula for different functions: executives need strategic AI understanding, middle managers need implementation literacy, and frontline employees need operational competency.

 

The most effective programmes combine technical understanding with ethical frameworks. Research shows that 82% of leaders expect to use agents to meet workforce capacity demands within 18 months, making human-AI collaboration skills essential. This requires training on AI ethics, bias recognition, and responsible deployment practices, not just tool operation.

 

Crucially, successful AI literacy programmes create feedback loops. When employees understand AI capabilities and limitations, they provide better input on use cases, identify implementation problems earlier, and contribute to solution development. This transforms AI adoption from a top-down technology rollout into an organisation-wide capability development initiative.

 

 

The corporate responsibility dimension

AI literacy is increasingly becoming a matter of corporate responsibility, not just a competitive advantage. Stakeholders, from investors to customers to employees, are demanding transparency about how organisations use AI and what safeguards are in place.

 

Companies without comprehensive AI literacy programmes face reputational risks when AI implementations go wrong. When an algorithm exhibits bias, when customer data is mishandled, or when AI-generated content creates legal issues, the question isn’t just about the technology, it’s about whether the organisation has the necessary human oversight and understanding in place.

 

 

Train or fall behind

Companies thriving in the AI era won’t be the ones with the flashiest tools, but those where every employee is empowered to engage with AI intelligently and responsibly. AI literacy must be treated as foundational corporate infrastructure, not optional.

 

The window for proactive action is narrowing. As regulation intensifies and market leaders pull ahead, AI literacy will define not just compliance readiness, but future competitiveness.

 

The real boardroom question isn’t whether your company is using AI, it’s whether your people understand it well enough to use it responsibly.

 

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Alex Rumble is Chief Marketing Officer at HTEC

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Laurence Dutton