Advancing Responsible AI Innovation A Playbook 2025

Literacy approaches tailored to different types of employee concerns TABLE 3 Employee concern Tailored literacy approaches Don’t see relevance of AI tools –Ask employees to share examples of how AI is applied in their day-to-day lives, e.g. robotic vacuums or voice assistants –Showcase how AI has been applied in work contexts and the benefits provided Struggle to use AI tools or integrate into work –Provide hands-on training –Establish peer-based modalities, where employees can share challenges and successes in using AI Don’t understand risks, limitations and responsible use –Mandate foundational training to all workers –Create role- and tool-based learning so that workers see how AI risk and limitations intersect with their workflows –Make guidebooks of principles and recommended behaviours readily available Fear that AI will lead to job displacement –Provide transparency regarding where AI is being deployed to replace or augment worker activities –Invest in trust-building with employees, such as by showing how AI has upskilled, rather than replaced, employees –When communicating AI adoption, use careful language to avoid the impression that the company prioritizes AI over people – or that it anthropomorphizes AI agents as equal to human workers Fear that AI will lead to increased stress –Balance increased employee output expectations that AI may afford with employee concerns of quality control, talent decisions and stress that can come with scale CASE STUDY 10 IKEA’s responsible AI literacy programme Faced with AI’s growing impact on retail operations, IKEA recognized an urgent need to equip its global workforce with the skills to interact with AI responsibly. They launched a global AI literacy initiative tailored to employee roles. The programme combines foundational AI knowledge with modules on responsible AI and ethics training. In the programme’s first year, over 4,000 employees were trained, with plans to reach 70,000 by 2026 and a company-wide rollout by 2027.95 Key insight Organizations should treat responsible AI literacy as a long-term, organization-wide commitment by embedding it into workforce development strategies, encouraging experimentation and integrating change management to support cultural and operational shifts. Advancing Responsible AI Innovation: A Playbook 34