What a difference a year makes! A survey conducted by Jefferies analysts found that nearly every American office worker has heard of ChatGPT (an increase over the past six months); So some people are concerned about automation coming to their jobs.
According to the report, 89% of full-time office workers have heard of ChatGPT and 74% have used it. While this is good news for AI developers, there is also a dark side to this number. After using this technology, some workers realized that automation could threaten their employment.
Almost half (47%) of workers are concerned about AI replacing their roles, a significant increase from 29% who had similar concerns in February 2023. The report states: Take your time and do ChatGPT. ”
Office workers also felt significantly more anxious than remote workers. 81% of office workers are excited about the possibility of AI replacing their role, compared to 12% of hybrid workers and just 7% of fully remote workers.
But what should I do? Jeffries said his 82% of workers are considering adding new skills to cope with job losses due to automation. Slightly more (29%) would rather use an online platform such as Udemy than attend university (24%). 17% would like their employer to provide some in-house learning resources.
But there was great news for Microsoft and its AI tech giant rivals. According to the report, 71% of full-time U.S. employees are willing to pay for ChatGPT, up from 59% in October 2023. That said, there remains a percentage willing to pay the kind of money Microsoft and Google are asking. Only 6% of people are willing to pay more than $31 per month, doubling from 3% in 2023.
The percentage of respondents who thought ChatGPT was not worth paying for also decreased, from 41 percent in October 2023 to 29 percent in January 2024. Jeffries accounted for much of the increase in the $31+ tier, but the largest percentage increase was in respondents willing to pay between $11 and $15 per month, with up to 16 percent saying they were willing to pay between $11 and $15 per month. It was 7%.
Overall, users understand that AI tools are not free, but many are not currently willing to pay the prices demanded by the tech giants.
Jeffries' research comes amid reports that enthusiasm for automation is beginning to wane in other areas of the U.S. economy. The number of robots ordered by North American companies in 2023 fell by about a third, the first decline in five years, as some people postponed purchases due to concerns, including concerns about the economy. Still, it's been a bumper year for automation manufacturers due to severe labor shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As AI automation continues to be driven by many software industries, we should look at the experience of robotic automation vendors, especially when it comes to cost and enterprise and consumer willingness to pay. ®
