Only in July, two new surveys about the American public opinion on AI and potential job losses via automation were released. Some of their findings may surprise you.
The explosive debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 has greatly intensified discussions around artificial intelligence (AI). As the potential consequences of advanced AI applications are being examined and being discussed, the focus on their impact on employment has taken center stage. In July, two significant studies were published concerning the displacement of jobs due to AI.
On July 11, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released their annual Employment Outlook , in which they claim that “27% of jobs are in occupations with a high risk of automation.” The survey took place before November 2022.
Later in the same month, Pew Research presented a similar discovery: “In 2022, 19% of American workers were in jobs that are the most exposed to AI, in which the most important activities may be either replaced or assisted by AI.” . What’s surprising is that workers in industries most likely to be significantly affected by the use of AI tools have more positive attitude regarding the potential benefits of generative AI!
Pew Research’s findings also indicated that several demographic groups other than workers anticipated to have higher exposure to AI are more positive about its effects on them. Specifically, Asian adults, individuals with college degrees, and those with higher incomes displayed a greater inclination than others to believe that the incorporation of AI in workplaces over the next two decades will offer more benefits than drawbacks for them personally. Conversely, women were only half as likely as men (11% compared to 22%) to share this perspective. However, women were also more prone than men to express uncertainty about the potential impact of AI on their personal situations. It’s not an AI’s world just yet.
Targetnews’s opinion is clear: Even hard – working people worry less about their job being automated away from them and more about living in a world they don’t understand.
