How AI Could Be Undermining Your Future · James Andrews Recruitment

As UK employers continue investing in artificial intelligence (AI) tools to boost efficiency, new research from leading analyst firm Gartner highlights a growing and often overlooked risk: over-reliance on generative AI could weaken decision-making capabilities and jeopardise the development of future leaders.

Why This Matters for Employers

Gartner predicts that by 2030, up to 30 % of organisations will experience a decline in decision-making quality if they rely too heavily on AI without strengthening human judgement and learning at the same time.

For UK businesses focused on growth, resilience and innovation, this has far-reaching implications:

Talent pipelines may be damaged, especially for early-career and junior staff. AI can automate routine tasks - but that often means fewer chances for less experienced employees to develop core professional judgment.
Leadership development could stall, with fewer opportunities for employees to gain real-world experience.
Quality control and risk management may suffer, as decision-making moves from human expertise towards automated outputs.

The “Protégé” Talent Dilemma

Gartner’s research highlights that employees in early-career roles - termed “protégés” in their framework - are particularly exposed because these individuals often lack the judgement skills to evaluate AI outputs independently.

In practice, this means some organisations risk creating a generation of workers who know how to operate AI tools, but don’t build the deeper skills needed to verify results, handle ambiguity, or make high-stakes decisions.

From a recruitment perspective, this affects:

Attraction and retention of future talent - candidates increasingly value employers that invest in their long-term development.
Internal promotion readiness - without structured growth, fewer employees will be ready for middle and senior leadership roles.

What Employers Should Do Now

Gartner suggests CHROs (Chief Human Resources Officers) and business leaders take active steps to ensure that AI supports - rather than supplants - human decision-making.

Here’s what organisations can do:

1. Prioritise Learning and Development (L&D)

Invest in structured development opportunities that help employees build judgment and strategic thinking skills. AI should be a complement to learning, not a replacement for hands-on experience.

Formal learning programmes linked to real business outcomes
Project rotations and job shadowing
Coaching and mentoring from senior practitioners

2. Create Peer Learning Channels

Encourage forums where junior and mid-level employees can share AI use-cases, discuss challenges, and learn from each other. This boosts confidence and builds collective judgement.

3. Support Knowledge Transfer

Design talent strategies that preserve access to experienced professionals, even when AI has reduced traditional task supervision. For example:

Cross-functional secondments
Buddy systems pairing experienced staff with newer talent
Internal mini-workshops focused on real problems and decisions

Balancing AI Adoption with Human Skill Growth

AI undeniably offers productivity benefits. Yet Gartner’s findings serve as a timely reminder: technology should amplify talent, not erode it.

For UK employers - from scale-ups to large enterprises - the message is clear:

AI innovation and talent development must go hand in hand.
Employers should avoid using technology as a shortcut for experience and judgement building.
Long-term success will favour organisations that build capable people, not just intelligent systems.

Final Thoughts: The Talent Imperative

In today’s competitive labour market, UK businesses cannot afford to overlook developmental depth in favour of short-term automation wins. Prioritising human capability alongside AI adoption will help organisations build:

stronger leadership pipelines
more resilient teams
sustainable competitive advantage

If your organisation is reviewing its AI strategy, consider how talent development and deployment are embedded in that roadmap - and how your recruitment and L&D strategies can work together to mitigate the risk of skill erosion.