In the face of the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence across all industries, 71% of US employees harbor concerns about it, according to a new survey by Ernst & Young LLP.
The study found 48% of respondents are more concerned about AI today than they were a year ago. Of those, 41% believe it is evolving too quickly. It also found that 75% of employees are concerned AI will make certain jobs obsolete, and 65% are anxious about AI replacing their jobs.
Furthermore, employees have concerns that AI will hurt their financial well-being and professional growth, including negatively impacting salary or pay, 72%; losing out on promotions for not knowing how to use AI, 67%; and falling behind if they don’t use AI at work, 66%.
Additionally, 65% of workers are anxious about not knowing how to use AI ethically, while 77% and 75% are concerned about the legal and cybersecurity risks involved, respectively.
Among generations, 63% of Gen Z employees use AI at work compared to 74% of millennials and 70% of Gen X. Gen Z is also less convinced of AI’s benefits than other generations.
Despite concerns, AI adoption remains prevalent, with 90% of respondents working for organizations that have adopted at least one AI technology. Another 67% of employees have personally pushed for AI adoption in their organization.
Overall, every four in five workers believe AI will make them more efficient, more productive and more focused on higher-value work.
“Generative AI has evolved to one of the fastest user-adopted technologies, and as regulators and C-suite leaders struggle to keep up, it’s causing a sense of discontinuity, confusion and even a loss of control among employees,” EY Global artificial intelligence consulting leader Dan Diasio said in a press release. “As businesses continue to adopt generative AI, leaders must keep employees at the center and help overcome fear-based barriers to usher in a new era of productivity and growth.”
Other findings in the report:
- 80% of workers say more training/upskilling would make them more comfortable using AI at work, while nearly 73% have concerns about their organization not offering sufficient training or upskilling. And 63% are anxious they won’t have access to AI learning opportunities.
- Employees also want transparency, with the majority saying they would view an organization more positively if they were offered AI responsibility/ethics training for employees, 80%; created an AI responsibility/ethical task force, 77%; and had a trusted third-party review of AI built into the process, 76%.
- Additionally, 81% of employees believe AI technology organizations should self-regulate more, while 78% advocate for a greater role for the government in regulating AI technology.
- The report noted employees would be more comfortable using AI at work if employees from all levels were involved in the adoption process and if senior leadership promoted using AI responsibly and ethically.
The online survey includes responses from 1,000 Americans employed in an office/desk job, either full time or part time, and are at least somewhat familiar with artificial intelligence. It was conducted between Oct. 5 and Oct. 16.