This is part 2 of a two-part report. See Part 1: AI Confusion: Hidden in Plain Sight.
The use of artificial intelligence as an everyday tool for work has moved from make-believe to mainstream at a frenetic pace. But how much value does it actually bring? A recent Pew Research Center study indicates that half of all workers worry about the future impact of AI on their jobs and a third think it will lead to fewer job opportunities for them. We’ve been doing our own research on this topic and asked 1,000 knowledge workers for their thoughts.
What we found is a sharp divide. Some workers see generative AI as a boon to productivity, others as an untrustworthy nuisance that calls professional standards into question.
Intriguingly, our survey found some of the sharpest splits between senior leadership and individual contributors. These two groups have very different views about how valuable AI tools are, what makes them useful, and even whether they should be using them at all.
But while there’s plenty of debate about the best uses of AI at work, we found that what knowledge workers appreciate most isn’t automating workflows or outsourcing their jobs—it’s AI’s ability to help them be understood and make them better communicators.
The view from the executive suite: AI as a daily decision assistant
Among our survey sample, people who have roles in senior leadership (VP-level or above) were three times more likely than other workers to turn to AI as an everyday work assistant. Most of these people said they felt proud to be ahead of the curve by adopting new technology, but some went further: 14% of senior leaders already see AI as indispensable to how they do their jobs.
How are they using it? For many, generative AI is about brainstorming or coming up with options, and thinking through problems to make better decisions was among the top uses cited. But when it comes time to choose a direction, leaders still want to lead. A whopping 76% of leaders agreed with the statement: “I want AI to help me make my own decisions, not make them for me.”
What about the fears of AI taking over human roles? Senior leadership doesn’t seem too worried. Only 14% of those who said they’re afraid that AI might one day replace them came from the senior leadership group. And nearly two-thirds of leaders said they have no problem with AI creating content so long as it still feels human.
The view from the trenches: AI may be a threat… but many of us are using it anyway
In contrast to the executives, knowledge workers without a management role are wary—the majority of people worried that AI is coming for their jobs came from this group. So it’s not surprising that 30% of ICs claim they’ve never used conversational AI at work at all, or that nearly as many said using AI triggers feelings of imposter syndrome. A similar number said they would feel better about using AI at work if they were confident it wouldn’t eventually replace them.
Younger workers feel even more circumspect about AI. 31% of Gen-Z respondents said they actually feel ashamed or guilty about using conversational AI tools to assist them at work, significantly higher than all other age groups.
Gen-Z workers who avoid generative AI are significantly more likely than others to think people who do use it are lazy or unethical, but their reported feelings of guilt don’t only come from outsourcing one’s job to a magic machine that’s absorbed the Internet. Issues with output accuracy, generative AI’s propensity to “hallucinate” made-up answers, and a lack of security or privacy were all frequently raised concerns, which is consistent with other recent research.
But those worries don’t stop people from using AI tools. In one of the more remarkable findings, 32% of Gen Z workers admitted they like using AI but don’t want anyone else to find out. And even when workers say they judge their colleagues for using AI in the workplace, there’s a 1 in 3 chance they’re using it themselves on a daily basis.
Finding common ground: AI as a tool for better communication
Despite the split between executives and their employees, and the ongoing debate about the ethics and optics of generative AI, there’s one thing nearly everyone agrees on: by a 10-to-1 ratio, workers overwhelmingly want AI to make them more effective at their job, not do all their work for them.
And when it comes to identifying the areas where conversational AI is making them effective, workers rank brainstorming and communication support higher than automating their work.
Using generative AI as a supplement to the human brain for brainstorming or thinking through a problem was the top reported use case across all the workers we surveyed.
But right behind that comes the opportunity AI presents to make people better at organizing their thoughts, getting them into words, and being understood by their colleagues. Twice as many workers said they turn to conversational AI to support their communication than for help with technical tasks like coding or data analysis. And 47% of workers said AI is making them more compelling communicators.
So while we can’t yet be sure if we’re on the cusp of a golden era for productivity or the “blandardization” of creativity, we may all get better at explaining our points of view thanks to AI.
