Workers Most Concerned About AI Soon to Take Their Jobs

How worried are U.S. workers about losing their jobs to artificial intelligence? The majority aren’t, according to a new survey from CNBC, but the data suggests the answer to that question is in some key areas. vary significantly based on different demographic factors.

According to the latest CNBC/SurveyMonkey workforce survey, a quarter (24%) of workers are concerned that AI will make their jobs obsolete, but fear of job losses due to AI is It is much higher among workers of color, younger workers, and lower-wage workers.

Numerically:

• Concerns fade with age. Thirty-two percent of workers aged 18 to 24 said they felt insecure, compared to just 14 percent of those over 65.
• 19% of white workers say they are worried, compared to 32% of black workers, 35% of Hispanic workers and 38% of Asian workers.
• 30% of workers earning less than $50,000 are worried, compared to 16% of workers earning more than $150,000.
• Workers who work entirely remotely are significantly more likely than those who work entirely face-to-face (54% vs. 38%) to say that AI-induced disruption could change their jobs. This result is consistent with other research data showing greater fear among remote workers. About lagging behind in careers as more workers return to face-to-face.

The survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey from May 23-31 with approximately 9,000 workers nationwide.

When knowledge workers are concerned about AI

While low-wage work has long been recognized as a target for automation, industry-specific survey data reveals that recent concerns about knowledge worker turnover are also a significant factor in fear levels. I was. About half of advertising and marketing employees (51%) and business support and logistics employees (46%) are concerned that AI will soon take their jobs, with an overall concern level of twice as much as him.

Even if the majority of workers aren’t concerned, they expect their jobs to change as a result of AI. 43% expect AI disruption to significantly change their jobs over the next five years.

AI experts argue that while some job losses from AI are inevitable, the technology presents as many opportunities as it poses threats.

In a recent interview with CNBC’s Sharon Epperson, Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute who focuses on AI, said in a recent interview, “Technology may automate some of someone’s work.” said. “And you might say that technology enhances work. Technology gives someone superpowers because, say, technology can write the first draft of a memo for you… I do a lot of other things besides writing notes.”

At the Davos World Economic Forum in January, it was reported that CEOs were using ChatGPT to draft first drafts of speeches.

If this AI effort rolls out predictably, Chui says, it will improve the productivity of individual employees. Some of the first academic research done on AI and productivity has shown great results.

But Chuy said that when computing AI and work, handing over tasks to AI could affect staffing. “If a machine can do 15% of someone’s job, and 100 people are doing that job, a manager might ask, ‘Do I need 100 people or do I need 85 people?’ , I see other managers saying, ‘I want 100 people, and I want them all to be productive.

Many experts argue that workers should now experiment with generative AI to protect their jobs, with future lawyers and teachers, for example, adapting to the use of AI in their roles. will be people All the way to the world’s most powerful jobs, employees are experimenting with her OpenAI groundbreaking ChatGPT. Apple CEO Tim Cook said this week that he is using OpenAI products.

In fact, the survey found that executives (23%) and vice president-level executives (27%) were more likely to say that the topic of AI was “frequently” discussed in the workplace by individual contributors (12%). %). .

Most Workers Are Not Using AI Today

But the survey found that more than half of those who say they use AI because they already need it to do their job worry that AI will soon make their jobs obsolete. , which indicates that places where AI is already prevalent are declining. quickly became confused. But it’s a small subgroup. A majority of workers (64%) say they are not using AI at all in their jobs. Twenty-six percent said AI would be helpful but not essential, and only 8% said using AI was essential.

“Most workers don’t use AI in their work on a regular basis, but they are frightened by the new technology and its impact on them in the long term,” said Laura Wronski, senior research manager for science at Momentive. There are people,” he said.

Many workers (43%) say they expect AI disruption to significantly change their jobs over the next five years. “Many workers, even if they haven’t been affected yet, are worried about how things will change with heavy reliance on AI for tasks that were previously done manually.” Mr Ronsky said.

Employees need to ponder the skills needed to complement technology, Mr Chui said, adding that companies and HR departments alike should ponder these issues to build a competitive future workforce. He added that he had to think about it.

“Everyone will have to grapple with this issue as this technology will continue to be adopted and will continue to change the work that everyone does,” he said.

Anu Madgavkar, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, said: “The concern about how workers will be affected is whether they are able to develop these skills more quickly and effectively. I think it’s related,” he said. “That way, he can achieve two goals: not only potential productivity gains, but also more workers engaged in more satisfying, more productive, and more profitable work. .”

But so far, discussions about AI in the workplace remain the exception outside the tech industry, with only 14% of workers saying AI topics are “frequently” discussed at work, according to the survey. It’s not too much. A third said it was discussed “a little”, but more than half (51%) said it was not discussed at all.

To join the CNBC Workforce Executive Council, please apply to: cnbccouncils.com/wec.