What Organizations Need to Understand About AI Adoption

That question sits at the forefront of the growing conversation among business leaders, educators and employees trying to understand what AI means, not just for productivity, but for people. Technology is powerful. While the opportunities are vast, the organizations experiencing the greatest success may not be the ones automating the fastest. They may be the organizations learning how humans and AI can work together.

Monica Worline, a faculty member at the Ross School of Business whose work focuses on thriving organizations and compassionate leadership, believes organizations often focus too much on technology and not enough on how employees experience change.

“Part of what the research is showing is that when teams can incorporate AI technology with appropriate expectations and guideline for us and when that use positions AI like a teammate, it makes the team experience more enjoyable. Members of the teams report more energy and more enthusiasm, which is a predictor of higher performance and better employee experience,” said Worline.

That shift may represent only the beginning. Nigel Melville, a faculty member at the Ross School of Business who studies AI capabilities and risk, believes leaders should be thinking beyond human-AI collaboration alone. As organizations continue adopting AI, he expects businesses to increasingly rely on both human-AI teams and AI systems working alongside one another to create value.

But as AI becomes more embedded in the workplace, governance takes on a more central role.

“Everything that I’ve learned in doing this research, as well as my industry engagement, points to the conclusion that risk management and governance need to be brought in from the get-go, right at the beginning, rather than waiting until something bad happens,” said Melville.

As organizations navigate these new questions, the pressure to move quickly is understandable. Executives are being told AI will transform everything from customer service to operations to hiring. Workers, however, are asking a different question: whether the tools designed are meant to help them or eventually replace them. That tension is reshaping the workplace in real time.

The companies moving thoughtfully are not using AI as a plug-and-play solution. They are asking deeper questions. Which decisions should remain human? Where does judgment matter most? How do teams build trust in AI-generated insight? And how do leaders ensure that AI technology enhances work instead of hollowing it out?

Those questions are especially relevant in Michigan, where businesses have long navigated technological disruption. Automation transformed manufacturing over the decades, changing workflows while redefining the skills employees need to succeed. AI presents a similar challenge, but at a much faster pace and across far more functions than factory floors.

AI tools are already drafting emails, analyzing contracts, generating software and supporting decisions across industries. As a result, leaders across functions, not just IT, must understand both the opportunities and implications of the technology.

This reality is changing how organizations think about leadership development. Technical fluency matters, but so do communication skills, ethical judgment and the ability to guide teams through uncertainty. The challenge is not whether AI will become a part of the workplace; it already has. The challenge is whether organizations can adopt it in ways that strengthen human potential instead of diminishing it.

Business schools and executive education are evolving to meet the moment. Michigan Ross Executive Education has expanded its focus on helping leaders navigate the intersection of technology, leadership and organizational change. This includes updates to the Advanced HR Executive Program to help HR leaders use AI and data analytics more strategically, as well as the new Chief Data and AI Officer Program.

The conversation surrounding AI often swings between extremes. Some predict unprecedented growth and innovation, while others warn about widespread job displacement and social disruption. Reality will likely land somewhere in the middle. AI will undoubtedly change jobs and alter workflows; certainly, some tasks will disappear, but new ones will emerge. Nevertheless, across industries, organizations will need leaders capable of building trust, fostering creativity and helping people adapt.

The conversation will continue this fall when Michigan Ross Executive Education hosts a 1.5-day leadership event at its new Los Angeles campus, where Worline and Melville will join other speakers to explore human-AI collaboration and the role of leadership in an era of constant change. Registration is open.

As companies adapt to an AI-driven future, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The organizations that thrive will not simply be the ones with the most advanced AI, but those that understand how to best combine technological capability with human potential.

This article was originally published on Crain's Detroit Business