Adding AI 'employees' is backfiring by creating new office scapegoats and making human workers sloppier and lazier

A man looks at this laptop and frowns, with both hands on the side of his head. (Credit: Getty Images)

In summer 2024, software company Lattice announced some new hires of sorts: a cadre of AI “employees” the firm would onboard, train, and manage like human workers. Though the tech unicorn founded by Sam Altman’s brother ultimately walked back some of the “rights” for its digital employees following pushback after it laid off 15% of its human staff, the trend of AI agents popping up on organization charts has not dissipated. In fact, new research shows this practice has only gotten more popular—and it’s making human employees worse at their jobs as a result.

A study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found nearly one-third of managers across the U.S., Canada, and European Union framed AI as a teammate or employee, and more than 20% listed those AI agents on their company’s work charts.