New IBM CHRO Study: AI Puts Critical Thinking at the Center of Workforce Priorities

New IBM CHRO Study: AI Puts Critical Thinking at the Center of Workforce Priorities

• 60% of employees worry AI is eroding their skills, with critical thinking cited most often as declining
• Nearly half of organizations do not involve the CHRO when AI strategy is being defined

ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new global study from the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value points to a disconnect between the skills Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) say AI requires and those employees prioritize. While 71% of CHROs identify the ability to supervise, validate and override AI outputs as the workforce's most essential skill, only 29% of employees rank judgment as important.

The study,* which surveyed 1,500 CHROs and 8,800 employees globally, finds that 60% of employees worry about skills erosion, with critical thinking cited most often as declining. At the same time, CHROs identify critical thinking (57%) and human judgment (48%) as among the workforce's most important capabilities.

The findings also show that organizations creating the greatest value from AI are redesigning work, decision-making and workforce capabilities around people and technology. Organizations that clearly define workflows as human-led, AI-assisted or AI-executed report achieving 18% risk reduction and 20% quality improvement. Yet, nearly half (46%) of organizations do not involve the CHRO when AI strategy is being defined.

"AI is changing not only how work gets done, but where people can contribute the greatest value," said Nickle LaMoreaux, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, IBM. "As AI takes on more routine and process-driven tasks, uniquely human capabilities become even more important. CHROs have a critical role to play in redesigning the workplace of the future so people can focus on the areas where they can have the greatest impact."

Other key findings from the study include:

Concerns about skills erosion reinforce the importance of judgment and critical thinking   

• Among employees who worry about skills erosion, three out of four say AI has already begun to erode at least some of their skills.
• Skills erosion ranks among CHROs' top concerns, cited by 46% of respondents. 
• 49% of employees and 57% of CHROs say critical thinking and problem framing are among the skills that matter most in the AI era.  
• Where judgment is built into how work is done, 62% of CHROs report growing employee confidence in AI-enabled decisions; where it is not, 57% report confidence declining. 

AI accountability gaps are impacting employees 

• 43% of employees report that when something goes wrong with AI, the blame falls on them, while 41% of CHROs believe employees may not feel safe challenging or overriding AI outputs.
• 36% of CHROs say unclear accountability complicates AI deployment.
• Only 28% of CHROs report a joint roadmap with IT backed by a shared operating cadence, and 73% say they struggle to coordinate consistently across the C-suite. 
• Where the CHRO at least shares responsibility for which decisions remain human-led, 76% of employees feel safe to question or override AI recommendations, compared with 43% where HR is merely advisory.

AI gains are creating new pressure on the workforce 

• 80% of CHROs believe AI adoption creates "invisible" work for employees, including validating recommendations, fixing mistakes, providing context and managing exceptions. 
• 42% of employees say AI increases their work or their work goes unrecognized. 
• 42% of CHROs say AI productivity gains are primarily reinvested for innovation or reskilling.

HR is expected to lead AI transformation, but its own adoption lags 

• 72% of organizations make limited or no use of AI inside the HR function. 
• CHROs rate HR's capabilities particularly low in AI literacy across the team (13%), AI performance measurement (16%) and change management for AI adoption (20%). 
• Organizations with mature HR AI capability, including governance, architecture and measurement, are nearly twice as likely to report a higher number of positive business KPIs. 

To view the full study, visit: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/c-suite-study/chro

The study also features perspectives from CHROs and people leaders on how organizations are responding to AI-driven changes in the workforce. A selection of these firsthand views is available in the addendum below.

*Study Methodology:
The IBM Institute for Business Value, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, conducted two complementary surveys from April to June 2026. The first survey gathered insights from 1,500 CHROs and equivalent senior executives responsible for workforce strategy on how they design work, culture and the workforce for an AI-enabled enterprise across 21 geographies and 23 industries. Executive respondents represented organizations of varying sizes and sectors, from $250 million USD to $123.7 billion USD in annual revenue or budget and from 200 to more than 880,000 employees. The second survey polled 8,800 full-time employees spanning 28 countries to capture their experience with AI at work. Additional analysis was conducted to identify organizations converting AI into growth versus those converting it into savings, segmenting organizations by strategic maturity based on capabilities and culture readiness.

The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM's thought leadership think tank, combines global research and performance data with expertise from industry thinkers and leading academics to deliver insights that help business leaders make informed decisions. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/ibv. To receive more insights, subscribe to the IdeaWatch newsletter: https://ibm.co/ibv-ideawatch.

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

Media contact:

Marisa Conway
IBM Corporate Communications
conwaym@us.ibm.com

Estefania Sanchez
IBM Corporate Communications
estefania.sanchez@ibm.com 

Executive perspectives:

"Fluency without judgment simply helps an organization make mistakes faster." – Dr. Amit Das, Director and CHRO, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (The Times of India) 

"Rather than asking how much work was completed, we're asking whether AI helped improve decision quality, speed, employee experience, guest satisfaction and business performance." – Kristin Oliver, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation 

"An AI-enabled culture that is grounded in the principle that humans are any company's secret sauce will differentiate you versus competitors. AI is a tool for humans to perform their best work." – Cecilia McKenney, Senior Vice President & CHRO, Quest Diagnostics 

"Offering an organization a design framework for transformation is HR work. It's actually the HR work everyone aspires to." – geneviève bich, Vice President - Human Resources (CHRO) and Board member, Metro

"We think of the CHRO and CTO as the power couple because they are bringing talent strategy and technology strategy into one conversation. Together, we're co-architects of the work." Ali Peek Bebo, CHRO, Pearson

SOURCE IBM