While AI adoption surges across every industry, new research cautions that leadership may be falling behind, with employees worried that those in charge lack direction around how to best use the technology. 

The latest data from the Citizen CEO Index, commissioned by challenger university the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), reveals that less than a quarter (24%) of UK employees believe their CEO has a clear AI, automation or data strategy – despite these being a top priority for almost half a million workers. 

That is having a direct impact on employees’ tech skills, according to the Index, as only 29% of UK leaders are actively encouraging AI use, while just 37% offer training for staff, despite half (49%) of CEOs saying AI adaptability is a critical hiring prerequisite.

The LIS said the results show a growing disconnect between the digital ambitions of employees and the credibility of their leadership in the AI age.

For example, while 35% of workers are already future-proofing their own careers against automation, just 1% of organisations have successfully scaled AI – with most citing a lack of internal leadership strategy as the primary blocker. 

The LIS claimed that globally, only 2% of enterprises are considered AI-ready, underlining a growing need for leadership to be better educated on the technological complexities of artificial intelligence, or risk losing ground to more able competitors.

Here in the UK, the figures fly in the face of the national push to upskill the country’s working population in AI, as the UK Government hopes to get ahead of what has been called the ‘biggest and fastest’ tech skills shortage in more than a decade.

However, technology isn’t the only area of disconnect, as the figures show a more subtle gap is widening between how business leaders and employees navigate ethical expectations. 

More than a quarter (28%) say their CEO behaves unethically, while 31% said their employer doesn’t understand modern societal issues. The biggest gap though is around the desire for growth at any cost, as 67% of employees want their CEOs to prioritise moral leadership over profits.

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In response, LIS said it is launching a new MBA programme designed for the AI era, which hopes to embed ethical thinking, AI governance and interdisciplinary leadership.

“We’re credentialing leaders who know how to optimise systems – but not how to understand them,” said Ed Fidoe, CEO of LIS. “The MBA was designed for stable markets and siloed departments. That’s not the world we live in anymore. This isn’t about ideology – it’s about credibility.”