AI is ripe for regulation, especially in the workplace. If only we could agree on what exactly needs to be regulated.

A lack of understanding of AI in the workplace. Two-thirds of US adults say they would not want to apply for a job if artificial intelligence was used in the hiring process, according to recent data from Pew Research. However, the report also found low awareness among the general public around the current usage of AI, with 61% not having heard about AI being used in this way.

Last month, Sundar Pichai appeared on 60 Minutes in an attempt to explain the potential dangers of AI. “All of us in the field call it…a ‘black box,’” he said. “You can’t quite tell why it said this, or why it got [something] wrong. We have some ideas, and our ability to understand this gets better over time. But that’s where the state of the art is.”

Keep reading.—AK

Life happens, and sometimes employees have to put work on pause. When they do, they’ll turn to your company’s paid leave policy. Cocoon’s 2023 Paid Leave Policy Benchmark Report explores the latest data on this crucial employee benefit.

In their 2023 Benchmark Report, Cocoon analyzed the parental, caregiver, and medical leave policies of 224 companies. Here are a few illuminating stats:

• Birthing parental leave averaged 16 weeks.
• Non-birthing parental leave averaged 12 weeks.
• Caregiver leave averaged 6 weeks.
• Medical leave averaged 4 weeks.

When you’re ready to give your paid leave policy a boost, Cocoon’s leave management software can help. It automates the complexities of claims, payroll, and compliance, letting People teams get back to caring for their employees—in and out of the office.

Get the full dataset in the report.

LinkedIn, the professional network that’s become a popular platform for workers to share news of their layoffs, recently announced some layoff news of its own.

In a May 8 message, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said the company would lay off 716 workers in response to shifting customer behavior and slower revenue growth. The layoffs will affect about 3.5% of LinkedIn’s 20,000-person workforce. The company also announced it will phase out InCareer, its local jobs app in China.

LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft and counts 930 million members, has become a go-to resource for both job-seekers and recruiters as job cuts have ticked up over the past year. Even though LinkedIn’s revenue growth has slowed over the last year, Microsoft recorded $18.3 billion in profit overall for the quarter that ended in March, up 14% year over year.

Previously on...This is the second time LinkedIn has laid off workers this year. The network also cut jobs in February, The Information reported. Like several other recent rounds of layoffs, those reductions affected HR, as employees on LinkedIn’s talent acquisition team were let go.

Keep reading.—CV

Despite increasing concern over the potential impact of AI in the workplace and beyond, many organizations appear poised to advance artificial intelligence in the coming years.

Over the next three years, nearly three-quarters of US-based companies expect to automate at least some of their work, according to the WTW Dynamics of Work Survey, up from 65% in 2023 and 51% before the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence has been mounting that AI can save time and money on a wide range of tasks, while business leaders have been increasingly considering layoffs and other cost-cutting measures amid an uncertain economy.

The survey, conducted in February and March 2023, was derived from 720 respondents in multiple countries, with 264 from North America. It found that organizations that are taking steps to automate expect around 27% of their work to be automated in three years, up from 14% in 2019.

Among the companies preparing for greater use of digital and automated technology, “39% are redesigning jobs or roles to reallocate work between employees, nonemployees and new technologies; another 19% are planning to do so this year,” according to a statement from WTW.

Businesses surveyed anticipate the downstream impact of these changes will result in increased outsourcing and reskilling current employees. Around 28% of US respondents are expecting to use “alternative talent sources” (such as contractors, freelancers, or talent in new markets), and 39% of the total respondents report that they’re “redesigning the employee experience to align with new work and career models.”—AK

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Two-thirds of S&P 500 CEOs ended 2022 with lower compensation due to significant decreases to the company stock price. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “Though they make up a small share of the labor force (7%), older workers are among the most satisfied with their job overall…They’re also more likely to find work enjoyable and fulfilling, and less likely to find it stressful or overwhelming, compared with younger workers.”—Kim Parker, Pew Research Center’s director of social trends research, on the benefits of hiring older workers (Yahoo Finance)

Read: New research from MIT indicates that men benefit more from workplace social support than women. The report includes guidance on what managers can do about to improve gender equity while cultivating a supportive workplace. (MIT Sloan Management Review)

Paid leave: Cocoon’s 2023 Paid Leave Policy Benchmark Report explores how forward-thinking companies support employees with paid leave. Get the report to see how your policy stacks up.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}