AI for team vibes: Less firefighting, more foresight

This week in workplace whiplash 🌀

The workplace headlines have been busy this week—here’s what’s making teams twitch, trend, and quietly reconsider their career choices:

• 🧠 AI: Now with ESP?
  A CEO has gone viral for sharing how she uses AI to help navigate team dynamics, spotting signs of potential interpersonal tension and preparing for how to respond if it arises.
  👉 Watch on TikTok via Fortune

• 🏢 Return to office? Not so fast
  A recent Gallup poll indicates that 64% of exclusively remote U.S. workers would consider looking for another job if their employer required them to return to the office full-time.
  👉 FM Magazine

• 🫥 DEI roles quietly disappearing
  Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto, has removed all references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from its 2025 annual report, signaling a shift away from identity-based initiatives.
  👉 Times of India

• 🛠️ Managers need more tools
  A recent article highlights the overlooked skills gap in mental health training for managers, emphasising the need for continuous education to support employee well-being effectively.
  👉 HR Executive

And while we’re talking about quietly chaotic workplaces… let’s take a closer look at the CEO using AI to read the room before the tension even starts to rise 👇

In a viral clip shared by Fortune, Moderna executive Tracey Franklin, lifts the lid on how she’s using AI to handle something most leaders dread: workplace tension. Her approach? She creates GPT-style profiles of her executive team using their personality assessments, then runs simulations to explore how people might respond in sticky situations.

It’s not about predicting who’s going to blow up in the Tuesday stand-up. It’s more subtle than that. Think of it as rehearsal for real life. By testing out possible scenarios in advance, Franklin can prepare her messaging, avoid unnecessary friction, and steer the team through challenges with a bit more finesse.

As she puts it: “We use AI to understand how people are showing up… what their word choice is, their tone of voice, their facial expressions, to really help us understand: where are the potential areas where conflict could arise?”

In other words, she’s not waiting for the drama to unfold, she’s doing the homework to prevent it. Less fire-fighting, more foresight. And in a world where hybrid working, Zoom fatigue, and ‘quiet everything-ing’ are the norm, that’s starting to sound less like sci-fi and more like smart leadership.

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Tension costs money. But most of it’s avoidable.

More and more companies are jumping on the AI hiring bandwagon, sold on the promise of speed and objectivity. The reality? Most of the tech still struggles to deliver what it promises. Sure, AI can scan a CV in seconds. But hold a decent conversation with a nervous, real-life human? That’s another story.

A recent Australian study found that AI hiring tools often struggle with accents and speech variations. In some cases, error rates spiked up to 22%. It’s not just a glitch, it’s an equity problem.

And the data that powers these tools? It’s often built on biased historical hiring practices. This analysis shows how things like career gaps, which disproportionately affect women and caregivers, can be treated as red flags.

When is AI helpful—and when is it just creepy?

Used well, AI like this isn’t about surveillance. It’s about showing up with more emotional intelligence, not less.

But misused? It risks crossing a line.

A 2023 MIT Sloan report warned that emotion-tracking tools can undermine trust if they’re rolled out without transparency or ethical guardrails. And in the EU, the AI Act makes it clear: using AI to infer emotions in the workplace is largely off-limits, unless it’s for safety or medical reasons.

So yes, insight is great, but only if it builds trust. If your team feels like their feelings are being mined for data, it’s game over.

From drama radar to real conversation

What makes Franklin’s approach different is that she’s not using AI to dodge conflict. She’s using it to deal with it better.

If a tool helps her spot where tension might be brewing, it means she can check in early. Ask better questions. Shift her own behaviour. That’s leadership.

Harvard professor Amy Edmondson puts it best: the goal isn’t to eliminate conflict. It’s to create an environment where it can be addressed constructively.

That’s where AI comes in, not as a replacement for empathy, but as a tool that makes more space for it.

Final thought

Let’s be honest, workplace dynamics have always been a bit of a mess. Hybrid setups, overloaded teams, and the general state of modern work aren’t making things easier.

But if AI can help leaders tune in—not snoop, not control, just notice what’s happening—maybe it’s worth paying attention. Just don’t outsource the hard stuff.

Your team doesn’t need a vibe tracker. They need a leader who actually shows up.