Workers are fighting back against AI. And they're getting creative. A report from Writer and Workplace Intelligence found that 29% of employees are actively sabotaging their company's AI rollout. Gen Z workers? 44%. The tactics range from feeding proprietary data into public AI tools to flat-out refusing to use the technology, much like NHS staff refusing Palantir over ethical concerns. Some even admitted to rigging performance reviews to make AI look bad.
The motivations aren't mysterious. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman said all white-collar work could be automated within 18 months. Workers hear this and think: why help build the thing that's coming for my job? KPMG found four in ten workers fear AI could take their job. They're calling it "FOBO," the fear of becoming obsolete.
But the sabotage is backfiring. Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, said AI "super-users" are "around 3x more likely to have received both a promotion and pay raise in the past year" compared to slow adopters. These power users save nearly nine hours a week with AI. The executives are paying attention. 60% are considering layoffs for staff who refuse to adopt. 77% say non-adopters won't be considered for promotions.
Writer CEO May Habib argues the winning companies aren't relying on layoffs but redesigning operations around human-agent collaboration. That sounds nice in theory. In practice, the message to workers is pretty clear: learn to use AI or get replaced by someone who will. The people sabotaging rollouts aren't protecting themselves. They're just making themselves easier to let go.