Potential uses by businesses of artificial intelligence and generative AI have received a lot of attention in recent months. If AI is to be a game-changer in the enterprise, employees must have confidence in what it can do and how it is implemented, otherwise your transformation efforts could grind to a halt. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to the people side of the equation, and Workday CFO Zane Rowe sees an opportunity for finance leaders to address what Workday calls the trust gap. AI.

“If you think about the opportunity that AI brings to everyone, it’s quite significant, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm at the corporate level and at the executive level,” he said. said in an interview at the 2024 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. “But what (Workday’s) research has highlighted, and perhaps not unexpectedly, is a gap between executives and corporate sponsors compared to the average individual at a company. “

Rowe cited the global Workday 2024 study “Bridging the trust gap in AI”. Commissioned by Workday and conducted by FT Longitude, the survey of 1,375 business leaders and 4,000 employees around the world found that:

• 62% of business leaders (c-suite or their direct reports) welcome AI, and 52% of employees expressed the same sentiment.
• 23% of employees are not convinced that their organization puts their interests ahead of its own when implementing AI.
• 70% of business leaders agree that AI should be developed in a way that allows for human review and intervention.

For Rowe, the study results represent an opportunity for organizations to improve their relationships with their employees. “It ensures that companies really understand what this opportunity is for them, but then do a good job and explain it to staff,” he said.

The role of a CFO has always been about data and numbers, and how that data is compiled and used to produce financial forecasts and reports, Rowe said. Technology, he added, holds the promise of increased efficiency and productivity, as well as value creation.

“What AI can do is allow us to do a lot of things in a much better way and think: How can we grow this business? » said Rowe.

The promise of AI in finance requires leaders to imagine new ways to use data to drive growth. This also means that CFOs will need to build partnerships to become financial futurists.

Rowe added that building trust is a critical part of this goal. “As a CFO, how can we build credibility? » asked Rowe. “How do we think about transparency and how do we communicate internally and externally about how we use this data in transformative ways?”

“It’s really time for enterprise CFOs, in particular, to build trust in this data so that everyone in the business can understand how it’s used and how important it is.”

Noting that Workday has clearly outlined its approach to Responsible AIRowe touted the trust engendered with customers through the company’s transparent approach. This element of trust is a critical part of driving AI adoption and achieving success.

“There’s no doubt that you can do a lot of things, but it really depends on the fundamentals of data platforms,” Rowe said. “And if you don’t monitor that trust gap, if you don’t get the average employee and the average leader to really understand how things are used, it’s going to be a challenge. It’s an effort that we all need to bring to the forefront and think about what needs to be done to help advance AI.