Survey Shows Six-In-Ten Americans Believe AI Would Impact Worker Welfare in the Next Vicennial

Following the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the past six months, Americans are becoming worried and wary about its potential impact in the workplace.

According to a survey by Pew Research, about six in ten participants believe these computer programs would majorly impact their welfare in the next two decades.

Crosscurrents of Public Opinions

According to a new survey published by the Pew Research Center, about 62% of its 11,004 survey participants stated that AI would majorly impact workers in the next vicennial.

Of this percentage, 28% believe these changes could affect their jobs and lifestyle personally, while 19% believe that there will be no or minor impact.

When asked whether Artificial intelligence would help or impede work efficiency in the next vicennial, many participants stated that the human-like intelligence would hurt rather than improve worker efficiency.

Meanwhile, 32% of Americans believe the benefit and harm would be equally split, while 22% are uncertain about its potential impact.

The survey gets interesting on the personal front. 38% of Americans are unsure about the personal impact of AI use in the workplace, while three-in-ten adults believe the impact will be the same across the board.

16% of the surveyed adults say their work efficiency would significantly improve with artificial intelligence infused into the workplace, while 15% said it would harm them.

Spreading its tentacles across the broader US economy, 56% of the participants stated that the spillover effects would be major for the next 20 years.

On the other hand, 22% believe that AI impact would be minimal. A further 3% postulated that AI would have zero impact on the US economy, while 19% refrained from giving an opinion.

AI for Hiring, Firing, and Surveillance? Not Everyone Is Having That
Providing more context on the workplace experience, 71% of participants opposed AI in final hiring decisions, while 7% supported the position.

However, 22% of participants said they were not sure.

A further 41% opposed the idea of employers using artificial intelligence systems to review job applications.

In comparison, 28% said they were comfortable with the idea that the AI software would better evaluate their skills and experience in their entirety.

About 30% of the respondents declined to have an opinion on the issue.

At the same time, more participants said they would prefer that AI was not used in deciding whether a worker should be promoted or fired.

61% of workers said they would be bothered if an AI system is used to track their every movement and when they are at their desks, while 15% said they would be unbothered.

37% were opposed to using AI to monitor how well they interact with customers, with a further 39% saying they would be concerned if these computer systems were used in evaluating their work ethics.

As pointed out by one surveyee, the AI system would miss out on intangible qualities that make for a good or bad employee, given its lack of human perception.

Concluding the survey, Pew Research noted that about 66% of respondents said they would turn down any job offer in which the employer used AI in hiring decisions. On the other end of the turf, 32% said they would still apply regardless.

AI Craze Gripping the Whole Tech Space

Since its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT from OpenAI has spurred an AI arms race.

The human-like intelligence comes with several benefits, including less time spent completing tasks, 24/7 work days without the need for rest, higher accuracy and precision with fewer errors, and completion of complex tasks, amongst others.

So far, many companies are already considering this huge market potential in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. Companies like Microsoft and Google have launched chatbot-like AI-powered search solutions to meet the teeming demand.

Also, customer relationship management (CRM) software giant Salesforce has launched its own EinsteinGPT to help customers spend less time on customer satisfaction.

Not to be left out, retail giant Amazon has launched its generative AI-powered cloud service called Bedrock.

Each company is trying to tap into the next direction of the tech market as AI begins to enjoy mainstream adoption.