New Groundwork Polling Shows Workers Not Sold on AI in the Workplace

New Groundwork Polling Shows Workers Not Sold on AI in the Workplace

Majorities believe AI implementation will make work worse, direct benefits only to the top

As artificial intelligence seeps into every aspect of daily life, new polling from Groundwork Collaborative and Ipsos finds that majorities of workers believe the benefits of the technology will be concentrated among high earners and will increase pressure on job performance, further exacerbating inequality and the increasingly K-shaped economy.

Three in ten workers report using AI at least once per week, but adoption and optimism varies drastically across income, education, and types of work. Nearly half of workers with college degrees believe that AI will improve their own job compared to just 19% of workers with a high school education. Sentiment about AI in the workplace diverges along racial lines as well, with Black workers far more likely than their white peers to say that AI will replace them in the workplace outright (12% vs 4%).

Across the spectrum, two-thirds of workers say AI adoption will make their work harder by eliminating jobs and increasing pressure, rather than freeing up time by automating tasks or expanding support for challenging tasks. This anxiety isn’t limited to the employed; unemployed jobseekers are more likely than employed workers to say that AI is having a negative impact on their line of work (41% vs 27%).

Groundwork’s Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Research, Elizabeth Pancotti, shared her reaction to the polling:

“Workers know bosses who say AI will make their jobs easier and allow them to be more productive are pulling a fast one. Across the board, workers report AI putting more pressure on productivity rather than supporting workers as many AI proponents claim. The benefits of AI in the workplace are not being split evenly. The workers who expect to reap the rewards of adoption are already high earners in white-collar jobs.”

BACKGROUND

• Overall, 51% of workers believe that widespread use of AI at work will only or mostly benefit business owners and executives, compared to just 6% who say most or all the benefits will go to workers. One in seven workers believe it will not benefit anyone.
• Three in ten workers use AI at work at least weekly, but there are stark differences on income, education, and sector lines.
  • Half of workers who earn less than $50k and without a college degree never use AI in the workplace, compared to the 80% of college graduates who use it at least occasionally.
  • White-collar workers are far more likely than blue-collar workers to use AI at work at least monthly (54% vs. 21%).
• On a macro scale, two-thirds of workers expect AI to make work worse by eliminating jobs and putting greater pressure on workers, rather than improving the worker experience by freeing up time spent on repetitive tasks and assisting with more challenging work. This sentiment is consistent across race, gender, education, and income lines.
• When asked specifically about how AI will affect their own jobs, optimism is concentrated at the top.
  • Nearly half of workers with a college degree (46%) and four in ten workers who earn more than $100k believe AI will help them with work and improve their job, compared to just 19% of those with a high school education.
  • More than one in five workers who earn less than $50k believe AI will make their jobs worse by making tasks harder or less fulfilling, and 10% believe AI will replace their jobs altogether, compared with just 5% of high-wage workers.
  • Black workers are far more likely than white workers to say AI will replace their job outright (12% vs. 4%).
• Unemployed workers are much more likely than employed workers to feel that AI is having a negative impact on their line of work (41% vs 27%), and far more likely to say the effect is very negative (17% vs 8%).