BENGALURU/CAMBRIDGE: A new global report from Infosys and MIT Technology Review Insights has shifted the focus of Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployment from technical investment to cultural transformation, revealing that 83 per cent of business leaders believe psychological safety directly impacts the success of their enterprise AI initiatives.
The study underscores that trust, transparency, and a ‘safe to fail’ culture are now essential for scaling AI across global organisations.
The report, “Creating Psychological Safety in the AI Era,” highlights that the journey to AI mastery is as much a cultural one as it is a technological one.
Despite significant investments in AI technology, the research finds that human factors remain the biggest impediment to adoption, with workplace fear—particularly the fear of failure—acting as a major barrier. The key findings point to a clear gap between technological capacity and cultural readiness:
More than four out of five (84 per cent) of respondents reported a direct link between psychological safety and tangible business outcomes from AI projects.
Nearly one-quarter (22 per cent) of business leaders admitted they have hesitated to lead or suggest an AI project due to the fear of failure or potential criticism.
Fewer than half (39 per cent) of respondents currently describe their organisation’s level of psychological safety as “high”.
This indicates that many enterprises are pursuing AI adoption on cultural foundations that are not yet fully stable.
The report identifies clear communication and leadership behaviour as the critical levers for improvement.
A significant 60 per cent of respondents stated that clarity on how AI will—and won’t—impact jobs would improve psychological safety the most.
Furthermore, just over half (51 per cent) highlighted that leadership modeling openness to questions, dissent, and failure is equally important.
Commenting on the findings, Rafee Tarafdar, Chief Technology Officer, Infosys, said, “We’ve observed that the most successful enterprise AI transformations happen in organizations that foster psychological safety. When employees feel empowered to experiment without fear of failure, innovation thrives”.
Laurel Ruma, Global Editorial Director, MIT Technology Review Insights, reinforced the message, stating that the research proves psychological safety is “not a soft metric, it is a measurable driver of AI outcomes”.
Infosys aims to equip global leaders with the insights and strategies required for responsible AI adoption at scale, leveraging its AI-first suite of services, solutions, and platforms, Infosys Topaz.
”This report confirms that enterprises must pair technical investment with cultural transformation if they want AI to deliver lasting impact,” added Sushanth Tharappan, Executive Vice President HR, Infosys.
The report ultimately concludes that creating psychological safety requires explicit messaging about AI’s realistic capabilities and approved use cases, rather than just good intentions or blanket HR policies.