“It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission,” says John, a software engineer at a financial services technology company. “Just get on with it. And if you get in trouble later, then clear it up.”
He’s one of the many people who are using their own AI tools at work, without the permission of their IT division (which is why we are not using John’s full name).
According to a survey, external by Software AG, half of all knowledge workers use personal AI tools.
The research defines knowledge workers as “those who primarily work at a desk or computer”.
For some it’s because their IT team doesn’t offer AI tools, while others said they wanted their own choice of tools.
John’s company provides GitHub Copilot for AI-supported software development, but he prefers Cursor.
“It’s largely a glorified autocomplete, but it is very good,” he says. “It completes 15 lines at a time, and then you look over it and say, ‘yes, that’s what I would’ve typed’. It frees you up. You feel more fluent.”
His unauthorised use isn’t violating a policy, it’s just easier than risking a lengthy approvals process, he says. “I’m too lazy and well paid to chase up the expenses,” he adds.
John recommends that companies stay flexible in their choice of AI tools. “I’ve been telling people at work not to renew team licences for a year at a time because in three months the whole landscape changes,” he says. “Everybody’s going to want to do something different and will feel trapped by the sunk cost.”
The recent release of DeepSeek, a freely available AI model from China, is only likely to expand the AI options.
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