While 91% of organizations plan to increase AI investment this year, the actual return on that capital is stalling.
According to Deloitte’s 2025 survey, only 6% of organizations see a return on investment in under a year. Even worse, new data from the Voice of the Enterprise reveals that 46% of AI projects are scrapped between proof-of-concept and broad adoption.
About eight in ten employees had strong concern about at least one AI angst item. For example, 65% of people agreed that they “worry about being replaced by someone who knows how to use AI better than I do,” 61% worry “AI might make others think I don’t bring unique value,” 60% worry “that using AI to help with my work will make colleagues question my personal competency,” 54% feel AI is impacting the way they connect with others at work, and 44% feel it’s “making them dumber.” One in three employees had an average score of four or greater across the AI angst composite score.
Overall, we found that approximately 86% of people felt AI will make work at least a little better with 14% feeling AI will have a neutral or negative impact on the experience of work.
All students, no matter how familiar they are with AI, can also concentrate on developing general competencies that can apply across any industry. US researchers have pinpointed six key “durable skills” for the AI age:
effective communication, to engage with others successfully
good adaptability, to respond to workplace, industry and broader social changes
strong emotional intelligence, to help everyone thrive in a workplace
high-quality creativity, to work with AI in innovative ways
sound leadership, to help navigate the challenges that AI creates
robust critical thinking, to deal with AI-related problems.
So, look for opportunities to foster these skills in and out of class. This could include engaging in teamwork, joining a club or society, doing voluntary work, or getting paid work experience.
Don’t forget ethics
