AI Reduces Job Opportunities? Survey Report Indicates High-level Executives: Need to Hire More People

Since the rise of generative AI, the fear of AI replacing humans (or more accurately, the impact of AI on job demand) has continued to grow. For example, we previously reported on the Hollywood writers' strike protesting against AI, the prediction that human engineers will disappear within five years, and the backlash from game industry artists against AI generated images, and so on. However, these issues were all viewed from the perspective of the everyday workers. How do high-level executives view the future of AI tools?

Recently, a report from Upwork surveyed 1,400 executives (including C-level, VP, directors, and senior managers) on their opinions of generative AI. The results showcased a different perspective that is quite interesting. However, it is worth noting that Upwork is a well-known freelance platform, so there may be some biased interpretations. I will try to provide a balanced report, but I kindly ask readers to use their own critical reading skills.

1. Will AI Reduce Job Opportunities? High-level Executives: We Need to Hire More People

First, let's address a common misconception.

Will AI make it increasingly difficult for everyone to find jobs? This is a major concern. However, according to high-level executives, AI tools actually make them want to hire more employees. 49% of respondents stated that they want to hire more staff, with 64% of C-level executives being even more extreme in their desire to find more "professional talent." The reason is not difficult to understand. Applying AI is a brand new domain and a major technological development, and high-level executives are very prone to FOMO-- in the immediate future, they hope to quickly bring in professionals and expert talent familiar with AI to integrate their organization's future roadmap with AI applications.

(Source: Upwork)

2. AI Acceptance? It Depends on Who You Ask

This question is also interesting. From the chart below, high-level executives have a more open attitude toward generative AI tools. Up to 73% of C-level executives agree that companies should embrace AI tools, showing a significant gap in acceptance compared to vice presidents, directors, and senior managers.

(Source: Upwork)

The report also highlights a few sentiments that express major concerns for the risks of adopting AI-- "I am worried that relying too much on AI will sacrifice customer satisfaction," "I am afraid that AI's changes will exceed the company's ability to react, so control measures are important to avoid potential harm caused by AI." Some executives also expressed that they "think artificial intelligence is being exaggerated, and introducing AI may waste resources and affect other more important projects."

In response to this, Upwork also provides recommendations to overcome this gap. First, top management should acknowledge employees' concerns about AI tools, and implement corresponding management strategies. For example, hiring external experts to conduct training courses to promote a learning-oriented corporate culture, and so on.

3. Remote Workers Embrace AI

The survey shows that 68% of remote companies actively adopt generative AI tools, while only 53% of companies with office-based work embrace AI, indicating that companies supporting remote work are more willing to embrace AI tools.

(Source: Upwork)

The report presents two hypotheses to explain this result. The first one is quite persuasive: since remote work does not allow you to "tap your colleague on the shoulder" for help with any issues, AI tools like ChatGPT can fulfill this type of use case. The second hypothesis is that Upwork believes companies that support remote work not only embrace new work patterns but also possess characteristics such as flexibility and openness. Naturally, they are more advanced and willing to embrace AI.

4. Medium-sized Companies are More Willing to Adopt AI

This finding is also interesting. The proportion of medium-sized companies accepting AI is the highest of those surveyed, reaching 62%; while small companies (with 250-500 employees) and large companies (with over 5,000 employees) are relatively less willing to use AI tools. Especially for large companies, only 41% embrace AI. How can we explain this phenomenon?

(Source: Upwork)

A 2021 report from Deloitte found that the reason why small and medium-sized enterprises are more willing to adopt AI is that AI tools can enhance competitiveness. Therefore, AI tools are seen as a fun way to engage in asymmetric warfare and compete with large companies. This phenomenon existed even before the rise of generative AI, let alone now.

After reading and digesting this report, I wonder if you readers have gained any insights or have any other thoughts on this current state of AI adoption at the workplace. I believe the implications for adopting AI are quite clear: talents who can use and command AI are going to become more competitive. While the fear of being replaced by AI is definitely understandable, this wave of AI has not brought about complete "replacement" of the existing workforce with automation, but rather introduced impactful enhancement of existing work flows. How do you see it?