Are you worried about AI in the workplace replacing jobs? New research suggests that the AI revolution hasn’t infiltrated the workplace just yet.
According to a nationally representative survey from the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre – UK employers are divided on whether to invest in AI-enabled digital technologies.
Such technologies, such as chatbots, smart assistants, cloud computing, and industrial robots, have gradually been introduced to the workplace over the last five years to lessen the workload and improve productivity.
However, with AI technologies carrying more and more of the workload – concerns have been raised that they could replace some jobs altogether.
Professor Mark Stuart, the lead researcher and Pro Dean for Research and Innovation at Leeds University Business School, explained why this isn’t the case.
He said: “A mix of hope, speculation, and hype is fuelling a runaway narrative that the adoption of new AI-enabled digital technologies will rapidly transform the UK’s labour market, boosting productivity and growth.
“These hopes are often accompanied by fears about the consequences for jobs and even of existential risk.
“However, our findings suggest there is a need to focus on a different policy challenge. The workplace AI revolution is not happening quite yet.
“Policymakers will need to address both low employer investment in digital technologies and low investment in digital skills if the UK economy is to realise the potential benefits of digital transformation.”
Less than half of UK employers invest in workplace AI
The study involved academics at the universities of Leeds, Sussex, and Cambridge and was carried out between November 2021 and June 2022, with a second wave now taking place.
The survey found that just 36% of UK employers have invested in AI in the workplace, with just 10% of employers that are not already using AI saying they would in the next two years.
The data also highlights a growing skills shortage problem, with less than 10% of employers anticipating a need for investing in digital skills training in the future.
Ironically, 75% stated they find it difficult to recruit staff with the right skills, with 60% of employers reporting that none of their staff had received formal digital skills training in the past year.
Why aren’t employers buying into AI?
Although some employers stated that improving efficiency, staff productivity, and service quality were the main reasons for adopting AI in the workplace, many said that AI simply isn’t relevant to their business, causes wider business risks, and requires specialist skills they don’t have.
The research also identified that there is little evidence to suggest that AI in the workplace will cause a loss of jobs.
Interestingly, it found that companies that adopt digital technologies were more likely to increase employment in the five years before the study.
Stijn Broecke, Senior Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), added that there is currently no reason to be concerned about workplace AI.
Broecke concluded: “At a time when AI is shifting digitalisation into a higher gear, it is important to move beyond the hype and have a debate that is driven by evidence rather than fear and anecdote.”
