68% Are Aware of AI’s Replacement in the Job Market

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the job market is undergoing a paradigm shift, presenting both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, AI-driven automation has the potential to increase efficiency and reduce costs, on the other hand, it may lead to job displacement and obsolescence of certain roles. However, the growing implementation of AI also creates new job opportunities in specialized fields such as machine learning and data science. To effectively address the impact of AI on employment, it is imperative to invest in education and training programs for workers.

However, anxiety about job losses caused by increased machine use has existed for centuries. With each breakthrough, someone’s livelihood or quality of life was jeopardized indefinitely.

To close these gaps, policymakers should prioritize restructuring school curricula to reflect changing skill demands, closing the educational attainment gap between rural and urban adults, and providing economic relief to workers who are forced to leave the workforce to learn new skills. The collaboration between governments and businesses is crucial in ensuring that the transition toward an AI-driven economy is inclusive and equitable.

In today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving society, understanding the needs and opinions of the public is crucial for success. To gather valuable insights and make informed decisions, Real Research conducted a survey on the Impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on the job market to gather the thoughts and opinions of our respondents.

The results offer a glimpse into the current attitudes and preferences of respondents and provide valuable information on the impact of artificial intelligence on employment.

Highlights:

• 68.24% are conscious about AI’s replacement in the job market
• 63.57% believe AI will introduce more job opportunities
• 29.34% saw that repetitive tasks were reduced due to the replacement of human-led tasks by AI

To begin analyzing the first data, it is important first to establish respondents’ awareness on AI and the impacts on the economy. Understanding the purpose of the survey and what questions were asked can provide a framework for interpreting the results.

The first set of data analyzed concerns the respondents’ awareness of job displacement caused by AI. The survey found 68.24% are well aware of it, 27.51% are partially aware, and 4.25% are unaware.

Upon further analysis, it was observed that the majority of the respondents who were aware of the impacts tended to have a positive outlook on the impact of AI on employment, with a higher percentage (63.57%) believing that new job opportunities will be introduced. Meanwhile, 29.23% highlighted current job displacement, and 7.19% remained uncertain.

What Jobs Will AI Replace?

Figure 1 focuses on identifying the industries most likely to be impacted by AI displacement of the human workplace.

The survey results showed that the manufacturing industry was deemed to be the most vulnerable to AI disruption (15.46%) followed by finance and accounting (9.94%), retail and customer support (8.11%), healthcare (6.94%), transportation (6.19%), and construction (5.52%). Further affected sectors can be seen on the above graph.

Read Also: 44% Think Robots Will Take Over the Workforce in the Future

It’s Time To Say Bye To Boring, Repetitive Tasks

The fourth set of data analyzed in this study investigates the specific job roles that the public believes AI will likely replace. The survey results revealed that the majority of respondents (19.83%) believed that AI would primarily replace manual and repetitive tasks, such as data entry and customer service.

However, a significant proportion of respondents (12.73%) also believed that AI would replace dangerous tasks, such as construction sites, disaster zones, etc. Among these respondents, 12.61% reported manufacturing and construction, 12.44% reported simple data analysis, 10.93% reported manual tasks, 10.32% reported driving, and 9.48% reported predictive maintenance.

These findings highlight the importance of addressing workers’ concerns in both manual and skilled job roles, as they face different challenges and uncertainties in adapting to the changing job market.

Also Read: 22.42% Feel AI Robots in Restaurants Work Best as Bartenders

But What About Tasks That Require Creativity and Critical Thinking?

The fifth data set in this study explores the public’s perceptions of which job roles are least likely to be impacted by AI. The results showed that a significant proportion of respondents (16.73%) believe that jobs that require creativity and innovation, such as design and engineering, will not be easily replaced by AI.

Similarly, 18.51% of respondents felt that AI would be less likely to impact jobs requiring human touches, such as healthcare, counseling, therapy, and education. These respondents emphasized the importance of human interaction and emotional intelligence in certain job roles and felt that AI could not replicate these qualities.

On the other hand, 14.97% of respondents felt that jobs that require critical thinking, such as law and finance, will not be easily replaced by AI. These respondents emphasized the importance of human reasoning and judgment in these job roles and felt that AI technology is still limited in replicating these skills.

Additionally, 14.39% of respondents felt that jobs that require flexibility and adaptability, such as sales and marketing, will not be easily replaced by AI. These respondents emphasized the importance of human interaction and communication in these job roles and felt that AI technology is still limited in replicating these skills.

Lastly, 20.17% of respondents felt that jobs that require physical presence and mobility, such as construction and manual labor, will not be easily replaced by AI. These respondents emphasized the importance of human physical ability in these job roles and felt that AI technology is still limited in its ability to replicate these skills.

Negative Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment

The sixth survey results indicate that participants view the potential downsides of AI displacement in the workforce as significant.

Specifically, 11.81% of respondents identified the lack of accountability as a major concern, while 10.49% cited job loss and unemployment. Additionally, 7.16% of participants highlighted income inequality due to job displacement as a concern, while 6.62% cited reduced consumer demand for goods and services as a potential downside. Furthermore, 6.26% of respondents raised ethical concerns about the use of AI in the workplace.

Benefits of AI Taking Over Jobs

29.34% of the respondents said automation of repetitive and boring tasks, followed by increased efficiency (22.93%), round-the-clock availability (22.73%), improved quality (10.97%), and increased safety (5.4%).

How Would It Affect Marginalized People?

According to figure 3, the data analysis regarding AI’s potential impact on marginalized populations in the job market reveals a mixed picture.

11.25% of respondents believe that marginalized people would have new opportunities in the field of AI and technology. On the other hand, 12.99% believe that automation of certain jobs would benefit marginalized people by freeing them from low-paying and dangerous tasks.

However, 14.42% of respondents expressed concern that job displacement would disproportionately affect marginalized populations due to limited access to education and training. Moreover, 17.05% believe marginalized people would be disadvantaged in the job market due to discrimination and a lack of resources and support.

We Understand the Negative Effects– But Are There Ways to Counter Them?

According to our survey results, the suggested ways to mitigate the negative effects of AI in human-led tasks and roles include

• Developing training programs (12.85%)
• Implementing ways for AI and humans to work together (10.59%)
• Developing policies for safe and responsible AI use (14.3%)
• Encouraging business investment in human capital (13.89%)
• Developing policies for ethical AI use with consideration of societal impact (14.04%)

Stance on AI Deployment for Human-led Tasks and Roles

Lastly, when respondents were asked for their stance on AI’s replacement in the job market, 39.75% of respondents stand in favor of the deployment of AI for human-led tasks and roles, while 28.58% of respondents are opposed to its use. The remaining 31.67% of respondents were unsure of their stance.

In conclusion, AI is already being used for automation, and the rate of invention necessitates organized collaboration for regulation. Technology has always been both an advantage and a disadvantage in the labor market, and the development of artificial intelligence is no exception. Those in the workforce who are being displaced by machine learning and limited AI will experience less acute suffering thanks to short-term legislative remedies.

If we are to handle the profound changes in the labor market that are currently taking place, long-term changes in local and federal policy are required, particularly those that encourage education and retraining.