The coming years may hold many challenges as artificial intelligence is deployed in the workplace. While some workers see this technology as a tremendous opportunity to boost productivity, others have more mixed feelings: they fear these new tools could be detrimental to their careers.
Such are the findings of the latest edition of the Work Trend Index report from Microsoft and LinkedIn. Over 30,000 workers in 31 countries were polled for this major annual survey.
It turns out that 52% of them are reluctant to let their colleagues know that they are using AI tools to carry out complex professional tasks. The reason? They’re afraid it would harm their career development.
Indeed, 53% of those surveyed fear that their superiors might be tempted to replace them with AI if they discovered they were using software with this technology to carry out important tasks.
Whether it’s a real or an imagined fear, no one really knows – experts and economists can’t agree on the number or type of jobs potentially threatened by the arrival of AI. American investment bank Goldman Sachs has estimated that 300 million full-time jobs in Europe and the US could be threatened by the technology, but it’s difficult to predict with any certainty the impact that generative AI systems will have on the world of work in the next few years.
In any case, the employees surveyed by Microsoft and LinkedIn are convinced of the need to master AI tools to shine professionally. Three quarters believe AI skills will help them stand out on the job market, while 69% are convinced that these skills will help them get promoted more quickly.
Eight out of 10 respondents believe they will be able to broaden their professional horizons thanks to this technology.
In fact, employers are already looking to surround themselves with people who are able to work effectively with generative AI tools, with two-thirds of business leaders surveyed saying they would not hire a worker without skills in this area.
Meanwhile, 71% said they’d rather recruit a junior with strong AI skills than a more experienced candidate who doesn’t know how to handle ChatGPT, for example.
Many professionals have understood this and now clearly state on their LinkedIn profile that they have mastered popular AI tools, in hopes that this will attract the attention of recruiters.
In this context, workers seem to have no choice but to jump on the AI bandwagon. Those who refuse to do so risk being overtaken, not by the technology itself, but rather by those who know how to use it.