“Digital charisma filters” will be used by 30% of workers in 2026, according to a list of 10 IT predictions by Gartner Inc. Other trends include hiring of neurodiverse talent and unionization of knowledge workers.

Digital charisma filters provide prompts before, during and after digital interactions to make leaders and co-workers more effective in social circumstances, according to Gartner.

“Organizations can expand their talent pool by incorporating the use of digital charisma filter assistants to improve the congruency of interactions at all phases of recruiting and employment,” Daryl Plummer, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, said in a press release. “Accelerate access to digital charisma assistants by pressing enterprise productivity and application vendors on how they are incorporating these capabilities into their roadmaps.”

Another prediction: The rate of unionization of knowledge workers will increase by 1,000% by 2028 because of generative AI. Lack of communication with employees over the use of AI could cause anxiety among staff.

“Organizations should focus their AI efforts on worker augmentation to improve productivity and quality of work rather than role automation,” Plummer said. “Stay grounded in what the technology can and cannot deliver because there remains a substantial amount of hype influencing board expectations.”

In addition, Gartner forecast that 25% of Fortune 500 companies will actively recruit neurodivergent talent by 2027. “Organizations that hire and retain neurodivergent talent will experience increased employee engagement, productivity and innovation across the workforce,” Plummer said.

There will also be more smart robots than frontline workers in manufacturing, retail and logistics by 2028 because of labor shortages and given the pace of development in robotics. However, electricity will be a problem in the future, with 50% of G20 members to experience monthly electricity rationing by 2026. This comes amid aging electricity infrastructure, limiting the ability to add generating capacity even as demand increases.

Other predictions:

• By 2027, the productivity value of AI will be recognized as a primary economic indicator of national power.
• By 2027, GenAI tools will be used to explain legacy business applications and create appropriate replacements, reducing modernization costs by 70%.
• By 2027, 45% of chief information security officers will expand their remit beyond cybersecurity due to increasing regulatory pressure and attack surface expansion.
• By 2028, enterprise spend on battling malinformation will surpass $30 billion, cannibalizing 10% of marketing and cybersecurity budgets to combat a multifront threat.