Many employees fear their jobs are at risk – because of the rise of AI

IT, finance and business service workers fear elements of their job could be at risk – because of ChatGPT.

A poll of 2,000 employed adults found 56 per cent are worried parts of their role could be made redundant following the recent rise of the AI platform.

Those in education (58 per cent) and HR (63 per cent) are also nervous about this emerging tech. 

Writing tasks (49 per cent), customer services (47 per cent) and coding (33 per cent) are seen as the first that could be replaced with ChatGPT in the workplace.

However, as the natural language processing tool continues to grow, a third of those polled don’t know where to begin to ensure they have the skills employers want in the future.

And 29 per cent admitted they haven’t done enough to develop their skills to keep up with the changes being made in the workplace.

But 83 per cent believe no matter how advanced the technology becomes, it can never replace the ‘human touch’ workers bring to their jobs.

The research was commissioned by professional training firm STL, which has also developed a quiz, challenging users to guess whether content has been created by a human or an AI bot.

A spokesperson said: “Whenever a ground-breaking tech emerges it can make workers nervous – and it’s no surprise many are cautious about their career prospects since ChatGPT launched. 

“It really is remarkable just what this tech can achieve in such early stages of its development, and what our research shows, is that workers must really explore how they can stay ahead of the curve.

“But it is not all doom and gloom – with new tech always comes new opportunities, and it is just as important we learn how it can support how we perform certain tasks.” 

Building up your roster of skills

When asked which industries workers felt could be most at risk from AI, translation (37 per cent) and web development (34 per cent) were among the most common.

While they also believe those who work in marketing, advertising and PR (26 per cent) should be cautious about its capabilities.

It emerged 58 per cent would consider retraining for an industry which is AI-proof, as 22 per cent admitted they dislike embracing technology with automated processes.

However, 39 per cent of workers are considering using ChatGPT to help streamline some of their processes at work.

Nearly three in 10 (29 per cent) said their workplace has introduced AI in some capacity to help with efficiency, and of these, 82 per cent have noticed an improvement with their productivity.

But overall, 67 per cent remain apprehensive about it being able to handle complex or creative tasks that require human judgment.

The survey, conducted via OnePoll, also found 67 per cent of workers have tried to learn a new skill in the last 18 months.

And 88 per cent feel it is important to continually learn new skills for their job – with 74 per cent willing to invest their personal time to upskill.

The STL spokesperson added: “It is great to learn from the research that workers recognise the importance of upskilling.

“No matter how secure you feel in your role, something can come along – like ChatGPT – to really throw the cat among the pigeons.

“Which is why it is never a bad idea to take some time to evaluate just what skills you might need to brush up on to offer continued value to your employer.”