Executives, even more than rank-and-file workers, would use AI despite workplace restrictions

Nearly half of U.S. employees trust artificial intelligence more than their co-workers, according to a new Calypso AI survey of 1,000 office workers. The finding suggests AI is increasingly viewed as more reliable than human colleagues, with experts attributing this shift to years of inconsistent leadership, office politics, and unclear communication rather than blind faith in technology.

What you should know: The survey reveals widespread willingness to circumvent company AI policies for perceived benefits.

• 52% of employees said they would use AI to make their job easier, even if it violated company policy.
• Among executives, this figure jumps to 67% who would use AI despite workplace restrictions.
• 34% of respondents said they would quit their jobs if their employer banned AI entirely.

The security risks: Workers are exposing sensitive company data through unauthorized AI use at alarming rates.

• 28% admitted to using AI to access sensitive data.
• Another 28% said they’ve submitted proprietary company information to AI tools for task completion.
• A previous Anagram survey found nearly half of employees were using banned AI tools at work, with 58% pasting sensitive data into large language models.

What they’re saying: Industry experts see this trust shift as a reflection of workplace dysfunction rather than AI superiority.

• “This stat says less about AI and more about people,” Mike Ford, CEO of Skydeo, told Newsweek. “Employees aren’t replacing trust in humans with machines, they’re responding to years of inconsistent leadership, unclear communication and internal politics.”
• “It’s less about blind faith in a machine and more about deep skepticism of people,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll explained. “Employees see AI as impartial, at least compared to colleagues who can bring politics, bias or grudges into decisions.”
• Donnchadh Casey, CEO of Calypso AI, warned: “These numbers should be a wake-up call. We’re seeing executives racing to implement AI without fully understanding the risks, frontline employees using it unsupervised, and even trusted security professionals breaking their own rules.”

Why this matters: The trust gap reveals deeper organizational issues that could accelerate risky AI adoption.

• David Brudenell of Decidr, a global enterprise AI platform, noted that “AI earns trust because it’s consistent, fast, and free from office politics, which are qualities humans don’t always deliver.”
• If employers don’t address eroding trust between people, “AI will fill that gap, for better or worse,” potentially hardwiring algorithmic decision-making into operations before organizations understand the risks.
• The trend indicates employees crave consistency and transparency that they’re not finding in human leadership.