- Workers believe that the use of artificial intelligence will lead to artificial intelligence replacing them in the future
- Companies are already using artificial intelligence to downsize the workforce
- Employers should upskill workers for the inevitable change
A new Forrester report (via The register), along with data from banking giant Goldman Sachs, have argued that humans remain the main block to widespread AI adoption in the workplace — and it’s probably not the skills shortage we hear about day in, day out.
While untrained workers still prevent some successful implementation of AI, employee reluctance is also likely to keep adoption rates relatively low, with many workers likely to feel threatened by the technology, especially against the backdrop of ongoing technological and AI-induced layoffs.
It is the fear of job loss that is likely to be the biggest deterrent for reluctant workers, with more than two in five (43%) worried that automation could cause widespread job losses within the next five years.
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Workers are still concerned that AI will take their jobs
For many, it’s a very personal threat – around one in four workers believe their own jobs are at risk, causing anxiety and mistrust that lowers workers’ willingness to actually engage with AI tools in the first place.
It’s a sentiment widely recognized by executives too, with more than half (51%) of UK business leaders seeing AI as a way to cut staff investment. Half already say AI has helped them reduce headcount, with 43% of managers expecting fewer entry-level roles to be supported in the future as they are replaced by artificial intelligence.
According to Goldman Sachs data, most (85%) UK executives say they would hire a self-employed AI employee given the opportunity.
Of the 10,000 SMBs cited in Goldman Sachs’ survey, 98% report using artificial intelligence and 72% have experienced improved employee productivity.
The company specifically says that early adopters are more likely to see the highest success, and the technology has been particularly prevalent across marketing and content creation. With analytics, sales and operations now opening up to the technology, employees in these sectors are best positioned to get on board with the technology so they don’t risk being left behind.
With this in mind, other sectors that currently exhibit low AI adoption are also well-positioned for workers to spearhead AI initiatives, prove their worth, and work with the technology instead of blocking it.
The two reports carry largely the same message, that artificial intelligence needs to be reframed as an opportunity for workers and businesses, not a threat.
However, the onus is on employers to both communicate the benefits of the technology beyond plain and simple productivity gains and to offer workers upskilling opportunities to stay relevant in an evolving landscape.
However, the reality is that only half (51%) of companies offer AI training to non-technical staff, and while this is a slight jump from 47% in the previous round of data collection, it still only covers half of workers. Even fewer (23%) have received rapid technical support for artificial intelligence, which totally affects effective use.
As Meta is reportedly preparing to cut 20% of its workforce — a rumor that’s still only speculative but has been partially supported by 700 job losses this week (via NY Times) – it’s hard to avoid AI’s negative connotations, but looking ahead, it’s clear that companies need to do more to both encourage and comfort employees when it comes to using newer technologies.
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