Dive Brief:
- Overreliance on generative artificial intelligence may cause managers to experience “epistemic de-skilling,” or the loss of certain knowledge-related capabilities that would normally be developed through real-world experiences, reflection and human interaction, a multinational group of researchers said in an article published last month.
- Specifically, managers may be less able to build moral insights, contextual understanding and job-related knowledge as they increasingly outsource tasks like idea generation to AI. This is more likely to occur in managers who face intense time pressure and use the tech as a shortcut rather than engaging deeply with problems, according to the researchers, who represented U.S., U.K. and Switzerland universities.
- HR teams may need to consider developing talent management plans that account for potential AI overuse as the study is not the first piece of research to show that employees’ skill sets can degrade if they are reliant on the tech.
Dive Insight:
Workplace AI has become a much more widespread phenomenon in 2026, and employees sometimes admit to overusing AI tools. Half of employees recently surveyed by GoTo, an information technology firm, reported being too dependent on AI at work, with a smaller share stating that they couldn’t function without AI, per a report released in May.
GoTo also found that overdependence made workers concerned that their skill sets had weakened — 46% of Generation Z workers in the firm’s survey said reliance on AI made them less intelligent — even as employers pressured workers to use the tech.
Generative AI replaces lessons that managers can learn via firsthand experience, Dirk Lindebaum, professor at the University of Bath, said in a press release, leading to problems with skill growth. Additionally, the tech’s outputs lack the context or moral judgment needed to make complex decisions, he added.
“Unlike humans, AI does not experience the world, understand the consequences of decisions, or grasp the social and emotional complexities in our workplaces,” Lindebaum said. “Instead, it produces responses based on patterns found in existing data.”
But AI need not always be detrimental to managers. The researchers found that an “epistemic up-skilling” approach could involve using AI as a tool for reflection, allowing managers to use AI outputs to challenge their assumptions, test their reasoning and explore alternative scenarios. Under that framework, managers could use AI to think more deeply about their choices and the consequences of their actions, Lindebaum said.
AI also may struggle to replicate the “durable skills” in which humans are more likely to excel, according to a recent Resume Now analysis. The company found that abilities like oral comprehension and expression, problem sensitivity and deductive reasoning may be key to managing AI as it evolves. Observers of the HR field have specifically identified human skills — such as critical thinking and data judgment — as key to operating in an AI-driven era.
