New Survey Reveals Most Workers Expect AI to Eliminate Jobs, Not Create Them

With companies leaning increasingly on the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), the state of traditional manpower has been left hanging in the balance. Layoffs have already occurred, and for labourers who were lucky enough to stay on, their career outlook appears uncertain rather than promising.

Hence, it is hardly surprising that some employees are sceptical about assurances of AI being merely used as a tool to help improve individual performance and overall productivity. Instead, a number of employees view AI adoption differently, believing it is a tactic by companies to lay off more workers in order to reduce overhead costs by 2026.

The figures supporting this sentiment can be seen in an AI Agenda report. In that report, employees were not entirely rejecting the idea of adopting AI technology. However, looking beyond that, some raised concerns about how artificial intelligence will evolve and who ultimately benefits from this technology.

Who Gains, Who Loses From AI?

If the numbers shared by the report are to be believed, the response of employees is hardly surprising. Of the sample size, 59% believe that AI will help a company determine which employees can be relieved of their duties, as part of an effort to reduce costs.

To enable that, 39% believe that AI will be used to monitor their performance and productivity. From there, the identification of employees who need further guidance or training would follow. About 48% of employees in that report expect AI to be used to improve their productivity and collaboration.

Looking at the process, AI can undeniably help to improve employee efficiency. But as far as retaining their employment status is concerned, there is no guarantee. In fact, 11% of employees are wary of retaining or securing new opportunities, which explains why acceptance of AI remains divided.

AI Resentment Unsurprisingly High

Although AI has been pushed as a tool to help employee efficiency, it is clear that workers are not convinced. From the same report, only 11% feel that AI would make their job easier, while 38% of workers prefer to take a wait-and-see approach to observe what happens once AI is fully embraced by a company.

Despite the considerable resentment that some employees hold over the integration of AI, corporate executives believe this sentiment reflects the wrong approach. Executives argue that workers are misinterpreting the situation, failing to consider how AI can help them become better at their jobs.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos backed this claim, believing employees will only get better and should not be worried about the infusion of AI.

'The reason they are afraid of that is because all these smart people keep saying that. These people are wrong,' Bezos said in an interview with CNBC last month. 'What's really going to happen is that it's going to elevate all these people.'

Considering Amazon has started to lay off thousands of workers as part of its planned reduction of 30,000 positions, some will find it hard to believe. Those numbers are hardly a fraction of the company's 1.58 million people globally, although more cuts may potentially follow.

Another executive who promoted the improved work-quality-with-AI angle is Matthew Prince of Cloudflare. After laying off 1,000 employees in early May, Prince explained how the reliance on AI was necessary to ensure quality service continued to be delivered to customers.

However, also included in that announcement was his controversial use of the term 'measurers.' For those who may not be familiar with that term, Prince previously defined it in a Wall Street Journal op-ed as people working in middle management, finance, legal, internal auditing, and revenue recognition.

That terminology drew backlash, with many criticising Prince for being insensitive. But tying it together with the growing dissent of workers towards AI use, it reinforces some fears about what organisations are planning moving forward.

It is a given that companies are looking for ways to cut down costs. Many see AI adoption as the way to do that, but often at the expense of human labour. However, an oversight by companies is that AI is not a one-stop solution. Ongoing modifications come at a cost, meaning there is a possibility that organisations could end up spending more than the standard compensation they provide to traditional human labour.