A.I. In The Workplace
Bottom Line: When you think of AI becoming part of everyday life in the workplace, what comes to mind? Maybe that is coming for your job? A Pew Research study earlier this year showed that most Americans, 52%, were worried about the impact of AI in their workplace. Additional research has shown 34% of people think AI will replace them in the workplace. Well, in time there will no doubt be a bunch of changes to the workplace due to AI, just as has been the case with technological changes historically – however early research is showing that AI has been a net positive in the workplace...according to employees – not just employers.
A new study entitled: Artificial intelligence and the wellbeing of workers, following the impact of AI in the workplace with 18,500 employees across various industries. The findings were especially compelling. Those who used AI regularly in the workplace reported higher job satisfaction, better physical health, greater efficiency leading to slightly fewer hours worked without any negative impact on wages.
In total, about 80% of employees using AI in the benefited from its use. While there already are many jobs that have been displaced or replaced due to the implementation of AI, with more likely to come, what this shows is that it’s most likely to be accretive to the average person’s work experience just as other transformative technologies before it. Do you remember how the advent of the consumer internet was theoretically going to lead to the elimination of most jobs? For most in the workforce today, can you imagine going back to performing your job without the internet? Technology advancements have always led to more jobs, not fewer. AI, after an adjustment period, is likely to produce more of the same, as opportunities and jobs that don’t even exist today are innovated into existence.