The article dangerously efficient: How Schadten-Ki infiltrated German companies first appeared at the online magazine Basic Thinking. You can start the day well every morning via our newsletter update.
Although companies officially offer hardly any AI training, many employees have long used smart tools independently-mostly unobserved. This shadow AI develops quietly, but continuously. What does this mean for corporate culture, strategy and innovative strength? An analysis.
So far, only one fifth of employees in Germany has received AI training. This is the central result of a current one Bitkom study. Accordingly, seven out of ten workers have never received a corresponding training offer from their employer.
One could conclude from the report that 80 percent of employees do not use AI. But I think that reality is different. Because when I speak to employees of my clients or do an AI training in associations and organizations, I always find that the employees use AI-every day, practical and often quite creative.
Just not necessarily officially, i.e. via corporate accounts of the AI systems. In my opinion, this unofficial use, which I call the “silent AI revolution”, has long since reached the company. This not only results in risks, but also huge opportunities. It is therefore important for companies to understand what happens here and what this means for them.
Schatten-Ki: The hidden parallel world of digital productivity
The classic procedure looks like this: Companies must first introduce AI, evaluate tools, plan training, develop strategies. Before that happens … nothing? Not up!
Rather, in many departments, people with private accounts for tools such as Chatgpt, Google Gemini, Midjourney, Notion Ai, Claude or Microsoft Copilot work without their superiors knowing about it – or deliberately register it.
This form of informal, unofficial AI use is called “Shadow Ai” or “Shadow Ki”-analogous to the situation in IT, to which employees use their own software solutions because they do not meet the official.
Why the AI tools are used, even if companies have not yet officially introduced them, are easy to understand if you only look at typical situations in which these tools bring relief and benefit for employees.
Anyone who works in marketing today and needs ten ideas for headings for a blog article use Chatgpt to generate ideas. If you want to write an individual offer in sales, you can be created by Claude or Chatgpt.
Anyone who struggles with IT documentaries or side-long handouts or leaflets uses tools for automatic summaries such as NotebooKlm. And if you have to create PowerPoint presentations, try tools like Gamma or Beautiful.ai. Together all of these tools have that they bring direct benefits for the employees because:
- they are easily accessible,
- Your application is intuitive
- The results are often amazingly good, at least compared to the situation that one would have if the tools are not used, and.
- the frustration about the existing internal processes is great.
It is now problematic that the use of the AI tools, on the side, happens quickly and uncontrollably, is usually completely invisible to management.
What is not visible is also not evaluated
The big problem is that what is not considered an officially introduced technology does not appear in any analysis, no reporting, no audit. It is not evaluated, not classified, not developed further – not even with regard to appearing or solidifying difficulties and challenges. The informal use of AI remains hidden-with all consequences:
- What about data protection: Are sensitive customer data unconsciously uploaded to US clouds?
- How is the quality of the outputs produced by AI tools: What results leave the house, without human control?
- How is new knowledge in terms of issuing the edition-Prompting-dealt with: Which innovative prompt strategies are not available to the company because none other than the employee who uses them knows about them?
All of this is difficult. In my view, however, it is even more serious that companies are giving away enormous potential if or because they do not recognize a dynamic that has long been a reality.
Schatten-Ki: Employee as an avant-garde
It is often overlooked that this use of AI tools in hidden is not a sign of breakdown or illoyal behavior, but a basically impressive example of self-initiative. Many employees want to work more efficiently. You feel the pressure to make more and more in a shorter time.
They understand that the previous processes in the company are not sufficient for what they want and can achieve. And you recognize the potential of the new AI tools and act from a mixture of curiosity, pragmatism and overwhelming.
In a way, the employees are one step ahead of their own companies. The revolution comes from below – not on the basis of a strategy paper. I think that’s not a risk. This is an opportunity. If you take them.
What companies can do
If a company is still considering “whether AI is worth it for us”, it has the wrong question in mind. Rather, the right question is: How can I make my people ‘knowledge visible, safe and scalable?
This does not need huge transformation programs. It is often enough to create a cultural and structural framework in which the employees can consciously act:
- Establish instead of forbidden: Instead of preventing the use of AI tools, companies should openly ask where, how and why tools are used by their employees. An anonymous survey is often enough to get a first picture.
- Value instead of sanctioning: Anyone who exhorts employees for unofficial AI use, suffocates innovative strength. Those who praise them for their creativity can learn from their knowledge.
- Create knowledge spaces: Whether Lunch & Learn, internal talks, weekly “Ki-Quick Wins” in the intranet or-what I have launched together with the BVI Federal Association of Real Estate Managers-a Ki-Talk to exchange ideas on AI experts via Best Practices: Anyone who creates platforms and formats, and in which experience can be shared, creates a common learning culture.
- Define game rules: Where sensitive data are involved, clear guidelines must be used – for example via permitted tools, data processing and human control. These rules should be understandable and practical. And the involvement of the employees in the creation of such guidelines creates faster acceptance.
- Courage to pilot: Instead of introducing AI only after months, individual departments with defined tools can work as a test and so quickly so-called “Quick Wins”, i.e. quick successes, which show the employees the benefits of AI tools or that motivates them to use these tools in the further use. The results created then help with the strategic expansion of the use of AI systems in companies.
Conclusion: The dark side shines brighter when many believe
The Bitkom study shows a truth in companies with regard to the use of AI systems by the employees-but not the resulting image. The majority of the companies surveyed have so far not offered AI training.
But concluding that there is hardly any use of AI in everyday entrepreneurship is Grundfalsch. Because a pragmatic AI ecosystem has long since developed under the surface. It is not perfect, not completely safe – but it is there and it has the will to redesign work processes and processes.
The actual question is therefore not whether companies should introduce AI. In my opinion, this question has already been answered by the employees. The real question is therefore: How long do companies want to afford to ignore the silent AI revolution in their own ranks?
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The contribution dangerously efficient: How Schadten-Ki infiltrated German companies first appeared on Basic Thinking. Follow us too Google News and Flipboard Or subscribe to our update newsletter.
As a Tech Industry expert, I am deeply concerned about the infiltration of shadow AI in German companies. Shadow AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that are developed and implemented without the knowledge or approval of the company’s IT department.
The use of shadow AI poses significant risks to businesses, as it can lead to data breaches, security vulnerabilities, and regulatory compliance issues. It is crucial for companies to have strict controls and oversight in place to prevent the unauthorized use of AI technologies.
Furthermore, the use of shadow AI can also impact the morale and productivity of employees, as they may feel marginalized or left out of important decision-making processes. It is important for companies to foster a culture of transparency and collaboration when it comes to implementing AI technologies.
Overall, companies must be vigilant in monitoring and controlling the use of AI within their organizations to ensure the safety and security of their data and operations. Failure to do so can have serious consequences for both the company and its stakeholders.
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