5 June, 2026

Efficiency has become a dominant promise of AI. Faster processes, lower costs, and higher output feature prominently in discussions around what adopting the technology can do for businesses. However, efficiency is not neutral. It reflects choices about how time, money, and power are redistributed, and those choices are increasingly being questioned in businesses around the world.

This is something we touched on last week, when we noted growing concern that AI capability is outpacing public trust, with Pope Leo XIV arguing that human dignity must remain the organising principle for how these systems are used. That same tension is now showing up in how organisations talk about AI‑driven efficiency.

Recent comments by the CEO of Standard Chartered, referring to his colleagues as “lower value human capital” who are being replaced by AI, brought this into focus. The comment triggered backlash: implying some of your colleagues are inherently more expendable than others isn’t a good look from someone whose salary is earned as a result of their efforts. The CEO has since apologised, pointing to investments in reskilling and internal mobility to support staff through the AI transition, which are important actions. But this exposed a deeper issue: who gets to define value when technology reshapes jobs, and on whose terms?

In South Korea, workers at Samsung have taken the question into their own hands, and have pushed for a fairer share of the company’s AI-driven profits. The labour union members argue that while automation and chips are generating record returns, those who contribute to the value chain have so far been left behind. Their demands are not anti‑technology, but are in support of justice, contribution and shared benefit.

For businesses, these questions are worth considering from a strategic perspective. AI can reduce repetitive work and free up capacity across organisations, but how that efficiency gain is used and distributed is a values decision. It requires businesses going beyond deployment to think carefully about purpose and responsibility, to ensure the transition to a world shaped by AI is a just one.

By Hillevi Fock