A new study from the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals growing concern among Canadian workers about the impact of artificial intelligence on their professional skills. According to the research, 62% of Canadian employees worry that AI is contributing to skills erosion.
The study also highlights a significant gap between what Canadian employees believe will matter most in the workplace and what human resources leaders say organizations need as AI becomes increasingly integrated into business operations.
Among Canadian Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs), 68% identify the ability to supervise, validate and override AI-generated outputs as one of the workforce’s most essential capabilities. However, only 29% of Canadian employees rank judgement as an important skill.
Critical thinking becomes more important
Concerns about skills erosion are closely linked to the growing use of AI in everyday work. Among Canadian employees who worry about skills erosion, 69% say AI has already begun to erode at least some of their skills.
Critical thinking is identified as one of the skills most at risk, while also emerging as one of the most important capabilities for the future. 54% of Canadian employees and 55% of CHROs say critical thinking and problem framing are among the skills that matter most in the AI era.
Human judgement is also gaining importance, with 49% of Canadian CHROs identifying it as a key workforce capability.
The findings suggest that the expansion of AI may not reduce the need for human expertise. Instead, organizations may increasingly depend on employees who can assess AI-generated information, identify errors and challenge automated recommendations.
Who is responsible when AI gets it wrong?
The study also points to a growing accountability gap surrounding AI adoption. 39% of Canadian employees say that when something goes wrong with AI, the blame falls on them.
Among Canadian CHROs, 32% say unclear accountability makes AI deployment more difficult.
The research also found that HR is not always directly involved in AI strategy. 37% of Canadian organizations do not involve their CHRO when defining their AI strategy.
The global findings show a similar relationship between HR involvement and employee confidence. Where CHROs share responsibility for determining which decisions should remain human-led, 76% of employees feel safe questioning or overriding AI recommendations. That figure drops to 43% when HR serves only in an advisory role.
AI is creating more “invisible” work
While AI is often promoted as a way to increase productivity, the study suggests that its adoption can also create additional work for employees.
87% of Canadian CHROs believe AI adoption creates “invisible” work, including validating recommendations, correcting mistakes, providing context and managing exceptions.
At the same time, 51% of Canadian employees say AI increases their workload or that the work they perform goes unrecognized.
Among Canadian CHROs, 45% say productivity gains from AI are primarily being reinvested in innovation or employee reskilling.
HR adoption of AI remains limited
Despite the growing expectation that human resources departments will help lead AI transformation, the technology is still not widely used within HR itself.
According to the study, 63% of Canadian organizations make limited or no use of AI within their HR function.
Canadian CHROs also report gaps in several AI-related capabilities. Only 23% rate their teams positively on AI literacy, while 20% report strong capabilities in AI performance measurement and 24% in change management for AI adoption.
Globally, organizations with mature HR AI capabilities, including governance, architecture and measurement, are nearly twice as likely to report a higher number of positive business performance indicators.
Companies are redesigning how people and AI work together
The study found that organizations generating the greatest value from AI are redesigning workflows, decision-making processes and workforce capabilities around both people and technology.
Globally, organizations that clearly define which workflows are human-led, AI-assisted or AI-executed report an 18% reduction in risk and a 20% improvement in quality.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in the workplace, the findings point to a growing need for employees who can supervise technology rather than use it.
The IBM Institute for Business Value conducted the study with Oxford Economics between April and June 2026. It surveyed 1,500 CHROs and senior executives across 21 geographies, including 75 Canadian executives, as well as 8,800 full-time employees across 28 countries, including 452 Canadians.
The research highlights a central challenge for Canadian employers adopting AI: as organizations rely more heavily on artificial intelligence to make decisions and perform tasks, human judgement, critical thinking and the ability to challenge AI-generated recommendations may become more important, not less.
Image by vectorjuice on Magnific
