Calling AI tools ‘employees’ can lead to worse error detection and more blame-shifting among human workers. A study found that people caught 18% fewer errors when AI work was attributed to a ‘digital employee’ rather than a chatbot. This trend is alarming as Silicon Valley pushes for workplaces with ‘digital humans’. As AI agents become more prevalent, there’s a risk they’ll be used to dump blame for human failures. Why it matters: this shift in language and mindset could have significant consequences for accountability and decision-making in industries like healthcare and government.