Henley’s written evidence to UK Parliament sets out vision for AI adoption in the workplace

Two submissions involving academics from Henley Business School have been published as part of the UK Parliament Business and Trade Committee’s inquiry into Artificial Intelligence, business and the future of the workforce.

Governance, not technology, is holding back AI adoption

The first submission from Henley’s World of Work Institute and the Thames Valley AI Hub argues that AI benefits are not yet being realised at scale because of organisational, cultural, and governance constraints, rather than technological issues.

Drawing on national survey evidence including Henley’s AI High survey of 4,600 UK workers, and TVAI public events engagement involving over 1,600 participants, the submission calls on the government to focus on AI adoption support, stronger organisational and sectoral governance, workforce skills development, and proportionate regulation of high-risk AI decision-making in sectors such as defence and healthcare.

Speaking of the submission, Dr Mona Ashok, Associate Professor of Digital Transformation said:

“This submission is a great example of how the Business School and the Thames Valley AI Hub can bring together research and regional insights to contribute to important national policy debates.

We connected research findings with the lived experience of workers and employers, helping to identify the barriers to responsible AI adoption, translating those insights into evidence that can inform policy. It demonstrates the value of being both research-led and closely connected to the organisations and communities experiencing these changes first-hand.”

The submission also highlights the importance of helping organisations develop the leadership capabilities, governance structures and workforce engagement required to adopt AI responsibly and effectively.

The impact of AI on humanness at work

A second submission from Dr Irina Heim and Professor Benjamin Laker, alongside colleagues at the De Vinci Research Center in Paris, explores how AI may reshape human participation at work. The researchers examined the question of ‘humanness’ at work: if AI is reconfiguring the nature of work, shifting people from being active participants to overseers of automated systems, what are the implications for worker wellbeing and engagement?

The submission recommends that the government establishes a coordinated framework for AI in the workplace that preserves meaningful human oversight, accountability, transparency, worker voice and autonomy, while supporting organisations through standards, regulation, procurement incentives, training, and proportionate accountability mechanisms.