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The promise of a generator AI tool is intriguing. It is about freeing up resources for more valuable tasks, streamlining repetitive tasks and teaching new skills. However, research data shows that workers are not fully embracing the possibility yet — and that employers are not doing enough to help them.
Who uses ChatGpt?
New data on the use of generator AI chatbots suggest that factors such as education, age, and industry can change attitudes towards AI. Knowledge workers could be affected by new technologies, according to a recent report from the Institute of Public Policy, a think tank.
A survey by the Pew Research Center last month showed that young adults in the US were more frequent users of AI chatbots generated for work. Of those ages 18-29, 12% used technology every day or several times a week, compared to 6% between 50 and 64 years old.
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The same study revealed differences depending on the level of education. 13% of graduate students and 12% of those with a bachelor’s degree said they use AI chatbots every day or several times a week, compared to 5% below the high school qualification. Workers over the age of 65 and qualified high school workers are less likely to have heard of the use of AI chatbots in the workplace.
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In France, an IPSOS survey issued in December 2023 showed that under 35 years of age (72%), executives (83%), and those with degrees (67%) knew what ChatGPT was and reported to be using it already.
Workers who are familiar with AI tend to be more optimistic about it. Published in July 2023, Pew Research suggests that US workers who are likely to be exchanged or supported by AI, such as high-tech workers, are more likely to recognize the benefits. People at work that are less exposed said they don’t know if AI will help or harm them in the workplace.
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“Normal users of Gen AI recognize that they can improve their work experience, and their expectations increase the more they engage in it,” says Emma Kendrew, an accent to consultant, a technology leader in the UK and Ireland. The research shows that daily users of AI are more than twice as likely to expect to improve job creativity and accomplishment compared to irregular users.
Are workers trained?
Lack of training can exacerbate the lack of trust. Despite evidence that employers are investing in improving staff skills, employees feel that they do not receive the support they need to become familiar with AI in the workplace.
Recruiter Adecco’s latest future report on the global workforce highlighted this gap. Of the 35,000 people surveyed, 48% reported using AI to use AI from 31% the previous year, but only a quarter completed training.
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The president of JC Townend, UK and Ireland recruiter Adecco, said historically, technology has often progressed faster than companies were able to formally train people within them. “We’ve seen a lot of what people learn. It comes from self-teaching and experimenting.”
In Slack’s fall 2024, almost a third of workers reported that they had no AI training.
Generated AI is expected to account for 15% of technology spending this year, but less than half of the organizations surveyed by Accenture have increased training on the basics or technical skills of AI. “The benefits of Gen AI cannot come from technology alone, but how organizations empower skilled people and use it to reinvent the process,” Kendrew said.
Increased productivity
Workers deploying generative AI benefits from increased productivity. Around the world, Adecco has found that nearly 30% of workers who save time with AI are checking their work accuracy and doing more creative work. Over the quarter, I felt that I could achieve a better work-life balance and engage in more strategic thinking.
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Louis-David Benyayer, an associate professor at the French business school ESCP, warned that in some cases, the adoption of generator AI reduced job satisfaction due to reduced creativity. Where time has been saved, it may lead to employers finding more jobs to meet it.
However, AI should not be used to make existing work more productive, says Carl-Benedikt Frey, an AI professor who works at the Internet Institute at Oxford University. “You can get so much juice from all of the lemons.” The big question is whether you can perform a whole new task. “Companies that are trying to answer these types of questions are more likely to be innovators. … Adopt human labor.”
Global Photography
There is a difference in how groups feel about AI. According to data from IPSOS’s AI Monitor 2024, which surveyed adults in 32 countries, more people in emerging markets thought that increasing AI use would have a positive impact on employment over the next three to five years.
This is driven by the enthusiasm of the age group. For example, in Indonesia, there are slightly more people than they thought AI under the age of 35 would improve their jobs.
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Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea have very few stocks in all three-year-old cohorts who believe AI will make their jobs better.
Research by the US National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that the adoption rate of generator AI appears to be faster than previous digital technologies. However, the impact of AI on jobs is still unknown, and many workers have not yet experienced the effects of technology.
Escp’s Benyayer suggested that despite the hype about generative AI and language learning models, attitudes can still change as there is a delay between technology and how it spreads into daily work.
