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INTRODUCTION
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how telcos operate, make decisions and serve customers. From boosting efficiency to shaping smarter strategies, AI offers vast potential to drive performance. When implemented thoughtfully, it has the potential to support inclusion by reducing bias, enabling inclusive career development and supporting more equitable workplace practices.
But without care and proper governance, AI can negatively impact people, organisations and the wider ecosystem. Companies must ensure AI operations align with their values and priorities.
While many reports cover AI use cases and market forecasts, few explore how employees really feel about AI, particularly its impact on gender balance, which is an ongoing challenge within the telco industry. To address this, we surveyed over 1,000 telco professionals and conducted qualitative interviews with four subject matter experts. We wanted to discover how telcos can engage with the technology without leaving people behind.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. AI CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON INCLUSION, BUT RISKS ARE HIGH AND IT'S UNCLEAR HOW MANY ORGANISATIONS ARE MITIGATING THEM
While gender diversity in telecoms remains an area for improvement, respondents believe AI has the potential to improve progress on gender equity. But given that many of the roles likely to be most impacted by AI tend to be predominantly held by women, organisations must take conscious and sustained efforts to manage risk and support their employees when AI is deployed.
The report indicates that of employers with good or excellent gender diversity, only 30% know of work being done to mitigate the risks AI poses to gender disparities. When it comes to companies with poor or very poor gender diversity, just 9% are aware of work being done to address the risks.
2. aI'S ADVANCEMENT IS NEGATIVELY IMPACTING PERCEPTIONS OF JOB SECURITY
The findings show that many telco professionals are concerned about AI displacing all or some of their role, particularly in functions such as marketing, admin, finance and customer service. Similarly, few respondents reported that they are confident in their job security, highlighting the importance of proactive communication and engagement, making sure that employees are brought on the journey. AI deployment should happen with employees, not to them.
3. eMPLOYEES RECOGNISE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF AI
Almost all respondents believe parts of their role could be automated, while the majority expect AI to impact everything from data gathering to strategy, research and project management.
Without effective governance at both organisational and AI model levels, the technology presents large risks of perpetuating existing societal imbalances. If AI is trained on biased data sets, these will be perpetuated in decision making.
Governance is needed across the entire lifecycle, from identifying and prioritising opportunities to building, procuring and decommissioning models.
Organisations need to assess the impact of their AI workloads and products they use or build on top of, throughout the supply chain. Effective procurement and vendor and technology evaluation processes are needed. Businesses and their leaders should not take notions of ethics and responsible AI at face value.
4. cONFIDENCE IN JOB SECURITY RISES WHEN SUPPORT IS PRESENT
Employees who feel supported through AI adoption are more likely to feel confident in their job security, proving the value of a people-first approach. The report reveals that those who receive AI-specific training and regular communication on adoption feel more confident in their roles. Here, organisations should broaden training beyond just technical roles to support all departments and educate employees on the technology itself along with its risks and limitations.
5. AI IS ALREADY TRANSFORMING TELCO OPERATIONS
The vast majority have already started integrating AI into their day-to-day operations, with a variety of tools being used on a regular basis. However, while adoption rates are high, most are in the early stages of their journey, highlighting a cautious but steady move towards AI adoption.
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