Neurodivergent professionals don’t just benefit from AI tools. They are often the ones who find the most creative and effective ways to use them, says Hiren Shukla, who founded EY’s global neurodiversity program and lives with ADHD and dyslexia.
Shukla said EY used Copilot to conduct a six-week innovation sprint with neurodivergent team members earlier this year, and the ideas flowed. They received between 60 and 80 process improvement suggestions, many of which were the result of creative approaches taken by employees to address problems.
“AI is not the only thing that can help with neural divergence,” Shukla says. “This is the power of neurodivergence to take full advantage of using Copilot. Harnessing that divergence and working with AI will lead to better innovation, more advanced use cases, and more ideas and applications of AI.”
As organizations increasingly recognize the value of neurodivergent talent and AI tools become more inclusive, the ripple effects will benefit everyone beyond individual careers and corporate innovation, he says.
This dynamic is especially evident at the leadership level, he says, where disclosure is rare and role models are rare.
“We hear a lot about frontline workers using AI, but we don’t hear a lot about neurodivergent leaders,” Shukla says. “Having executives like Kim Akers share their stories is so important. It galvanizes other leaders to look at themselves, step up, and celebrate the way they use AI, whether it reveals neurodivergents or not.”
Maitreya Shah, director of technology policy at the American Federation of People with Disabilities, said AI tools are creating opportunities for people who have historically been left out of mainstream companies and institutions.
