Many organizations are overlooking AI's impact on human-to-human behaviors, allowing misalignment, distrust, and unaddressed norms to accumulate as 'cultural debt,' and trust and cohesion are eroding just when they matter most.
Source
2026 Global Human Capital TrendsOriginal Quote
Many organizations are overlooking AI's impact on human-to-human behaviors, allowing misalignment, distrust, and unaddressed norms to accumulate as
Outlook
PessimisticAccumulating cultural debt and eroding trust and cohesion in organizations are negative societal and organizational outcomes.
The present tense framing indicates this erosion is currently underway.
Stated without hedging as a present-tense fact, implying high confidence.
Potential Data Sources for Validation
Employee engagement and trust surveys (e.g., Gallup, Edelman) tracking trends in workplace trust, cohesion, and cultural alignment at organizations with significant AI adoption.
About the Author
Shannon Poynton is a Senior Manager (recently admitted to the Deloitte partnership) in Deloitte Consulting LLP's Human Capital practice, where she advises global clients on organization, workforce, culture, and strategic change solutions, and is a co-author of Deloitte's Global Human Capital Trends report.
Across 10 tracked claims, Shannon Poynton, Jason Flynn, Nicole Scoble-Williams, Victor Reyes, David Mallon, Sue Cantrell skews neutral.