As organizations race to embrace artificial intelligence, much of the conversation has centered on speed, efficiency and productivity. Leaders are investing heavily in AI tools, employees are experimenting with new workflows and businesses are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge.

Yet there’s an aspect that leadership adviser and author Jennifer Haredi says organizations may be overlooking that may be the most important part of the AI conversation: people.

During a recent CalCPA CEO Chat, Harrity, who authored a white paper titled “The Human Cost of AI—Why the Empathy Gap is Breaking Organizational Culture,” challenged leaders to think beyond the technical capabilities of AI and consider its human impact. Drawing on her decades of experience working with organizations on culture, governance and transformation, including advancing ESG and sustainability initiatives at Sensiba, Harrity is now helping leaders understand that the long-term success of AI implementation will depend less on technology itself and more on trust, transparency and psychological safety.

“The most important questions surrounding AI aren’t technical,” Harrity explained. “They’re human.”

The Missing Piece in the AI Conversation

Today’s AI discussions are often filled with enthusiasm. Organizations talk about increased efficiency, higher productivity and the ability to accomplish more with fewer resources. While those benefits are real, Harrity believes many leaders see short-term gains while overlooking longer-term cultural consequences.

“There’s a lot of focus on the efficiency gains and economic gains,” she said. “But not the long-term stuff that is really going to impact organizations.”

For Haredi, the issue is similar to lessons learned during the rise of ESG initiatives. Companies that successfully embraced ESG were forced to think beyond shareholder value and consider the impact of decisions on all stakeholders.

The same principle applies to AI.

Organizations that evaluate AI through the lens of employees, customers, partners and communities—not just profitability—will be far better positioned to succeed.

“AI really requires organizations to look at how implementation impacts all stakeholders, not just shareholders,” she said.

When the Message Doesn’t Match the Experience

One of the most compelling parts of the conversation centered on the growing disconnect between leadership messaging and employee reality.

Many organizations introduce AI with enthusiasm. Leaders host town halls, celebrate innovation and emphasize how technology will help employees work faster and more efficiently. And as organizations automate tasks, reduce hiring needs or eliminate positions, employees naturally begin questioning their future. Even when layoffs aren’t planned, uncertainty can create anxiety.

“They go back to their desks wondering, ‘Am I going to be replaced?’” Harrity noted.

At the same time, workers are being asked to learn new tools, adapt to changing processes and produce significantly more output than ever before.

The result can be a workplace paradox: productivity increases while stress and burnout rise alongside it.

“People are turning out more work than they have their entire career,” Harrity said. “But that level of work is taking a toll.”

For accounting professionals, this challenge can be particularly acute. If staff members can complete four times as many tax returns or audit tasks with AI assistance, managers suddenly face much larger review workloads. Efficiency gains don’t eliminate work—they often shift it elsewhere in the process.

The Empathy Gap

Harrity refers to this growing disconnect as an “empathy gap”—the distance between leadership and employees experiencing the day-to-day realities of AI implementation.

Importantly, she doesn’t believe leaders are intentionally creating these problems.

“Partners really do care about their people,” she said. “They don’t want to stress them out and overwhelm them.”

The challenge is that leaders often see productivity metrics while employees experience anxiety, confusion and uncertainty. When organizations focus exclusively on quantitative outcomes, they may miss the qualitative realities unfolding beneath the surface.

“The words aren’t matching the actions,” Harrity said. “That’s where you start to see trust erode.”

And trust, she argued, is one of the most valuable assets any organization possesses. Once it begins to decline, culture, engagement and retention often follow.

Transparency Builds Trust

So, what should leaders do? Haredi’s answer is simple: be honest.

Rather than presenting AI as an exclusively positive development, leaders should openly acknowledge both opportunities and challenges. If organizations discover unintended consequences during implementation, they should communicate them transparently.

“I think leaders have a great opportunity to show humility, authenticity and transparency,” she said.

Instead of assuming more training will solve every problem, organizations should first seek to understand what employees are actually experiencing. Anonymous surveys, listening sessions and open conversations can provide critical insights that productivity reports alone cannot reveal.

“People need psychological safety,” Harrity said. “They need to feel comfortable telling leaders what’s really happening.”

That feedback may not always be flattering. Employees may report that tools aren’t working as expected, that processes are creating frustration or that fears about job security are growing. But hearing those concerns is essential if organizations hope to improve.

“Leaders need both the quantitative data and the qualitative data,” she said.

Why Humans Still Matter

Despite concerns about automation, Harrity remains optimistic about the future. One reason is that many early AI adopters are already learning an important lesson: technology alone is not enough.

She pointed to examples of organizations that dramatically reduced human involvement only to discover that creativity, judgment, communication and relationship-building remain indispensable.

In fields such as marketing and communications, some organizations rushed to replace people with AI-generated content. Many are now rehiring experienced professionals after realizing that authentic human insight still provides enormous value.

“You need the humans,” Harrity said.

The same principle applies to accounting. AI can process enormous amounts of information, identify patterns and accelerate workflows. But professional judgment, ethical decision-making, client relationships and the ability to spot errors remain uniquely human strengths.

Even as AI grows more sophisticated, the future is unlikely to be a choice between humans or technology. The most successful organizations will learn how to combine both.

A Leadership Opportunity

The conversation offered a hopeful message for leaders navigating rapid technological change.

AI is transforming the workplace, and the pace of change will only continue. But organizations that lead with transparency, empathy and trust have an opportunity to strengthen—not weaken—their cultures.

Technology may drive efficiency. But people drive innovation, resilience and long-term success.

As Harrity reminded listeners throughout the discussion, the future of AI isn’t just about what technology can do. It’s about how organizations choose to implement it—and how they care for the people affected along the way.

CalCPA CEO Chats are exclusive to our Elite Membership tier. Check out the full CEO Chat on demand by registering and accessing the event in your Activities. And be a part of the next Town Hall conversation on Sept. 2. More information on our Elite Membership can be found online.