AI (artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on a computer motherboard in this June 23, 2023 illustration. Reuters-Yonhap
Artificial intelligence (AI)'s ability to boost individual productivity is becoming increasingly evident but many companies are confronting the “AI productivity paradox” — a growing disconnect between personal efficiency and meaningful organizationwide business performance, according to a recent report by Hana Institute of Finance, Sunday.
At the individual level, the technology has already demonstrated measurable productivity benefits, particularly in fields such as programming, legal services and marketing, where its integration with human expertise can significantly improve speed and output quality.
Agentic AI represents a further leap, moving beyond tasks like drafting documents or creating images toward systems capable of independently planning and executing complex workflows. This evolution has heightened expectations for AI’s economic impact. PwC projects that it could boost global gross domestic product by as much as 15 percent by 2035.
Yet despite heavy spending on AI adoption, many organizations have struggled to translate these investments into measurable gains in revenue, financial performance or labor productivity.
According to the Hana report, this paradox largely stems from companies adopting AI without fundamentally redesigning workflows, organizational systems or strategic priorities.
Many executives have prioritized highly visible, short-term AI deployments that are easier to showcase to shareholders or the media, often resulting in superficial implementation rather than substantive operational change. As a result, AI tools remain poorly customized to actual workplace processes, limiting employee adoption and practical utility.
This weak integration can also fuel the rise of “Shadow AI,” where employees independently use unauthorized external AI tools without formal organizational oversight, potentially creating security risks.
The report further noted that even when AI improves efficiency, organizations may fail to witness productivity gains if freed-up labor capacity is not redeployed toward higher-value activities.
To fully unlock AI’s potential, the institute stressed the need for companies to rethink AI not simply as a support tool, but as a core specialized actor embedded across enterprise functions.
Source: Korea Times News
