As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, for companies it has the potential to take on additional human-oriented tasks.
There are a range of benefits to artificial intelligence (AI) that employees can use to make their working life easier and for the most part, the technology exists as a non-sentient workplace aid that is nice to have, but not an absolute necessity.
But, as AI continues to evolve and grow at rapid speed, for Chris Fleischmann, the founder and CEO of virtual collaboration platform Arthur, AI can sometimes act as an employee of sorts, filling out gaps in organisational structure and bolstering the workforce.
One such role he believes can be undertaken by AI technology is that of the chief of staff, a position in which artificial intelligence can engage deeply with people, eliciting their views, synthesising insights, driving action and doing more than just automating schedules.
“Imagine an AI that launches brief, targeted ‘interviews’ with your teams, via chat or voice, asking structured questions on strategy, product features or roadblocks,” said Fleischmann. “The same AI can also support your meetings in real-time, not just with basic note-taking, but proactive insights.”
He explained that the AI chief of staff can then consolidate briefs, highlighting the trends, outliers and overall sentiment, to propose the logical next steps, action items and allocating people to tasks. It can present real-time data and suggestions and even prompt quieter voices to contribute to the discussion.
After the meeting, the technology could potentially automate follow-ups, gently nudge employees and track progress. “This isn’t just a smarter scheduler, it’s a continuous feedback loop powered by AI, turning individual opinions into organisational momentum,” he said.
Reaping the benefits
To properly wield the benefits, Fleischmann noted that AI users who want to make AI technology a more proactive part of company-wide infrastructure need to be aware of the downsides. For example, he said that without proper question design, AI might miss deeper context behind a comment.
There is also the issue of growing AI fatigue, in which professionals are largely becoming exhausted by the proliferation of artificial intelligence into almost every aspect of their working and even their personal lives.
By adding AI interviews to the workday, in areas where they have no key use, Fleischmann argues that employers are potentially contributing to the depersonalisation of the workplace.
Lastly, there is the risk of encouraging dependence on machines. He explained, teams might begin to defer judgement to AI models, effectively weakening their own critical thinking skills. However, this can be overcome by giving managers and those in leadership positions the skills needed to think critically using AI as an assist, not a crutch.
Can AI keep the peace?
Another really interesting role Fleischmann believes AI can facilitate is that of the office peacekeeper. “By probing for concerns in a structured way”, he said, AI can identify early misalignments, for example if a team is unclear on their priorities, or if a unit is unsupported by the wider organisation.
“As an impartial facilitator, it frames sensitive topics neutrally, reducing defensiveness, keeps conversations on track reminding everyone of shared goals and ensures follow-through, so commitments aren’t just lip service.”
He added: “When every voice is solicited equally, via AI-led check-ins, you eliminate the ‘loudest voice’ bias. The AI can highlight whose feedback is underrepresented, prompting deeper outreach.
He also believes that this can result in a workplace where track assignment patterns ensure critical tasks are not consistently the responsibility of the same few people.
So, as we look to a future where some of our co-workers may be less human than others, Fleischmann stated he is incredibly excited about giving AI a larger role in how a company operates. These ‘non-human employees’ handle the heavy lifting essentially and give their more sentient colleagues the opportunity to build up skill in other areas.
And while it can sometimes “feel like drinking from a firehose”, as there is seemingly a new AI capability every week, to bridge emerging skills gaps and embrace what we already have, smart automation can enable us to “triage routine tasks now, while we upskill our people for tomorrow’s challenges”.
“The greatest promise of AI as chief of staff isn’t replacing human connection,” he said. “It’s enriching it. By handling the repetitive, by drawing out every voice and by turning raw feedback into focused action, AI amplifies our capacity to lead with empathy and build organisations that move faster, smarter and more fairly.”
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