- One in six American workers say they are lying about using AI to accommodate the job expectations
- Engineers using AI are the new threat not the tools themselves
- Many workers copy AI-literate peers just to seem competent in modern workplaces
As AI tools spread over office environments, many American workers are now in a strange situation: pretending to use artificial intelligence at work.
A recent study by Technical Recruitment Company Howdy.com found that one in six employees claims to be lying about using AI.
This phenomenon seems to be a reaction not only to managerial expectations, but also to deeper uncertainty about job stability in an AI -saturated landscape.
Survival of the most artificial
During the behavior, what some call “ai-nxiety” is a turmoil born from conflicting tales.
On the one hand, companies encourage employees to embrace AI to increase productivity; On the other hand, the same workers are warned that AI or someone more adept at using it could soon replace them.
This feeling of pressure is especially acute when considering workers who fear being displaced by technically skilled comrades, such as engineers who actively use LLM -based systems and other AI tools.
As a commentator put it on Registered: “You may be losing your job to an engineer using AI.”
For some, the message is clear: Customize or be left behind.
By the end of 2023, a study conducted by EY found that two -thirds of the white collar American workers feared being transferred to the promotion of AI Savvy colleagues.
In this environment, it becomes a way to uncover against obsolescence against limitation against obsolescence against obsolescence.
Further complicating the image is the lack of adequate training.
Howdy.com reports that a quarter of workers who are expected to use AI will not receive any instructions on how to do it.
Without proper guidance, many sit between the expectations of the management and the reality of poorly integrated AI systems.
Some give up to master the tools and simply act as if they are already doing it.
Meanwhile, the conflicting workplace stands the confusion.
Another study from Slack’s workforce index found that almost half of the global desk workers felt uncomfortable telling leaders that they are using AI, and care that it may make them seem lazy or unoriginal.
So some do not pretend to use AI even when they do.
In the heart of the problem is a growing mismatch between what companies signal, “AI is the future”, and what employees are experiencing: unclear expectations, low support and changing norms of competence.
Whether AI is actually replacing jobs or not, the psychological toll is already here and pretending to be an AI user has become a strange new survival strategy.
