AI Policy Concerns Leapfrog DEI Worries in Survey of Executives

Ah, how quickly the corporate conscience moves. A new Littler survey of 300 US business leaders reveals that 84% now expect AI policy changes to affect their operations—double last year's 42%. Meanwhile, the proportion fretting about DEI policy has plummeted from 84% to a mere 38%. It seems diversity initiatives have become the forgotten middle child in the boardroom, elbowed aside by the shinier, more terrifying prospect of actually having to regulate the workplace's newest overlord.

The speed of this pivot is breathtaking—and not in a good way. Last year, DEI was the hot topic, 84% worried. This year, it's barely half that, because apparently the only thing that unites corporate America is the shared panic over a technology they've already deployed without much thought. Littler, the law firm that conducted the survey, must be rubbing its hands at the billing opportunities: one day diversity compliance, the next day AI accountability, and the client base hasn't even blinked.

So farewell, DEI consultants; hello, AI ethics advisors (with the same PowerPoint, just swapped in 'bias detection' for 'unconscious bias training'). The real joke is that both concerns are rooted in the same fear: that the powerful will do something reckless, and the underlings will pay the price. But at least AI feels more futuristic, doesn't it? To the 38% still worried about DEI: your moment has passed. The 84% have spoken, and they're now busy drafting policies that will be, one suspects, just as toothless as the ones they've just abandoned. Cheers.