IBM Report Warns AI Could Erode Critical Thinking Skills CHROs Consider Essential

HR Dive · United States · Sep 23, 2026

An IBM study finds that three-quarters of employees believe AI is eroding critical thinking, human judgment, and other skills that CHROs rate as most vital in an AI-enabled workplace. Separately, 80% of CHROs say AI creates 'invisible' workloads — tasks like validating outputs and fixing errors — while nearly half of employees say AI has added to their overall workload. The report recommends structured interventions such as rotations, supervised decision-making, and coaching to help early-career workers build durable skills. For staffing firms, the findings underscore growing demand for candidates who demonstrate strong judgment and critical thinking, particularly as clients reassess workforce competency gaps created by AI adoption.