Small business owners are convinced that AI will not replace them or their current workforce, but many argue that AI will eliminate the need to employ more people. future workforce prospects are not as bright.
That’s according to a recent poll released by small business management software provider FreshBooks. Two-thirds of his small business owners disagreed with the idea that AI could replace their companies and their employees. At the same time, a majority (44%) said they expected AI capabilities to reduce jobs in the future. The larger your business, the more likely you are to agree with this statement.
“Recently, there has been growing anxiety about AI, with workers in certain industries expressing concern that it will replace their jobs,” said Mara Leaf, chief data officer at Freshbooks. rice field. “In the small business world, managers don’t seem particularly threatened and don’t believe artificial intelligence can do the job as well as they do. It’s hugely open to the possibilities of using AI as a support to help you scale.”
However, it is not yet clear which employees will lose jobs in which departments. The survey found that 25% are currently experimenting with AI, while 46% of those who haven’t are still unsure how generative AI (technologies such as ChatGPT and Bard) will benefit their business. 32% said they were not sure. How to start applying generative AI to your business. But overall, 60% of his small business owners agree that AI will dramatically change their business within the next five years. Managers with employees were more likely to agree with this statement than those without employees.
The FreshBooks survey was conducted in May among 1,000 US and Canadian small business owners across industries. The margin of error for this study is plus or minus 5% with 95% confidence.
