Did AI Help With the Work? Saying Yes Could Mean Missing Out on a Raise or Promotion.

Workers who admit to using AI are finding that adopting it diminishes their chances of being promoted or given a raise. 

A new report from Business Insider tracked several workers who used AI in their work projects. It found that managers were eager to applaud AI for its work contributions and diminish the role that human workers played. 

For example, Aubrey, a New York-based healthcare analyst, received a request from her manager when she was preparing to present a big project earlier this year. In a presentation to senior leadership, her manager encouraged her to emphasize how she used the AI chatbot Claude in the project. Aubrey noted that she did use Claude, but in a small way. Her manager wanted her to credit Claude with more of a role than it had, she said. 

“I had worked for over a year to gather issues, draft alternatives, learn the implications of any changes, and my manager wanted to credit all of that to AI,” Aubrey told Business Insider. She did not disclose her last name because of the sensitive nature of the discussion. 

In the presentation, she highlighted AI’s contribution to the project while still showing that she did most of the work. However, in the middle of the presentation, her manager stopped her and said in front of senior leaders that she had built out her project in a minute with AI, undermining her work. 

In her annual review a few weeks later, Aubrey received negative feedback. Her manager said that the presentation was a factor in the assessment. 

How much credit should workers give AI?

Another worker, Deepak, works in IT for a Fortune 500 tech company. Last year, for the sake of transparency, he disclosed to his managers that he was using AI coding agents to carry out his grunt work. 

That move backfired. Deepak told Business Insider that his managers started to automatically credit all of his positive contributions to AI, delaying an expected promotion. 

Deepak and Aubrey’s situations highlight a growing concern among white-collar workers. If they admit to using AI, will managers assume that AI can take over their jobs? Business Insider noted that in response to this situation, many workers have been hiding how they are using AI from their bosses and debating whether or not to give AI credit for their work tasks. 

One company exemplifies the struggle between AI-driven productivity and layoffs: fintech company Block. In February, Block laid off 40% of its workforce, or about 4,000 employees, citing AI-powered “intelligence tools” that transform the way the company operates.

CEO Jack Dorsey said in April that AI had transformed work at the company. Instead of showing up to meetings with slide decks, employees tapped into AI to create prototypes, like sketches, diagrams and fully working tools, and presented them in meetings instead. 

“Now everyone is bringing a prototype that they built, which is pretty amazing,” Dorsey said on an April episode of Sequoia’s Long Strange Trip podcast.