The AI resource reallocation challenge: How can companies capture the value of time?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking over routine tasks, boosting productivity, and allowing employees to focus on more interesting and strategic projects. And that is just the start: The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) estimates that in the next five years, 57% of U.S. work hours could be automated with existing technology. 

That is the “AI time dividend”—in theory. In practice, it has proved difficult to cash it in. One factor is that AI adoption is highly uneven. Some people are...