Is Your Job In Danger Of Disappearing Because Of Artificial Intelligence?

My wife and I are fortunate to live next door to Dr. Marybeth Fortune. She is an expert on change management and a Harvard and Oxford University-trained organizational leader, the CEO of Dr. Fortune Consulting, a keynote speaker, executive coach, and corporate trainer. She provides customized capacity building, organizational and employee wellness, leadership and management training, You can follow her on LinkedIn and visit her company website to learn more about her work.

In February of this year, an artificial intelligence (AI) summit with technology developers in attendance was held in Paris, France. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet whose AI is called Gemini, spoke there and described AI as being “the most profound shift of our lifetimes.” Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, predicted AI would cause the “largest change to the global labour market in human history.” Sam Altman of OpenAI and ChatGPT stated, “In a decade perhaps everyone on Earth will be capable of accomplishing more than the most impactful person can today.”

The word “democratization” comes up anytime you talk to AI technology buffs. Those who speak of democratization, describe a levelling of the job market where the expertise needed gets replaced by an AI companion. In the words of Jenssen Huang, CEO of AI chip maker, Nvidia, democratization makes all workers “CEOs of AI agents.”

I asked Marybeth how AI was being perceived by the management and employees of the companies with which she works. She volunteered to write what follows. Sundar, Dario, Sam, Jenssen and other AI experts need to take notice. 

Will you lose your job to AI? Employees are increasingly concerned about the potential impact AI will have on their employment.

• More than half of workers (52%) are worried about how AI will be used in the workplace.
• 65% are nervous that AI will replace their existing job.

How can organizational leaders expect to maintain employee motivation and productivity if much of their workforce is unnerved by the potential threat AI represents to their job security? 

Accurate Information Eases Stress And Uncertainty

AI is causing stress. Stress is based on a perceived threat, even though the object of concern may not be an actual threat. What we know about employees’ AI anxiety is that most of it is based on the unknown. Fear of the unknown in the present and future regarding how AI will infiltrate their workplace fuels negative speculation and uncertainty, which leads to worry. 

Research informs us that at least 85% of what we worry about never materializes. That is seldom comforting for workers caught in fearful rumination loops about the repercussions of being replaced by technology or being unable to adapt to technology-related changes despite years of loyal high performance at their job.

Employees want transparency. If companies make clear to their workforce how incorporating AI into the business aligns with its purpose and goals by augmenting and assisting their work rather than replacing them, perhaps some of this internal tension around its introduction can be soothed. Clear and honest communication helps ensure the well-being of the individual employee by lowering stress and boosting organizational morale, which is especially important in rapidly changing environments.

Collaborate With Employees At All Levels 

Clear communication about how AI can be harnessed to assist employees with mundane work to enable more time for creative engagement helps shift the workforce from anxiety and resistance towards acceptance and engagement. To do this effectively, leaders need to collaborate with employees to co-create AI solutions for their specific organizational context. Here is what research tells us:

• 77% of employees would experience less stress if all levels of the organization were involved in the AI adoption process.
• 31% of workers acknowledge that some aspect of their work could be accomplished with AI.

Deliberately including them in the conversation is key to an effective transitioning of some job tasks to AI. Aspects of the job that require ethical reasoning, human connections, and other tasks which AI cannot execute, would remain in the employee’s portfolio and guard against being declared redundant. That’s why employees included in the decision-making process promote buy-in for eventual decisions and implementations and help mitigate feelings of loss of control which play a significant role in occupational stress.

High-Quality AI Training and Upskilling Required

So far in implementing AI these facts stand out across the globe:

• 39% of employees surveyed across multiple employment sectors where AI is already in use have received no formal training to use it.
• 80% of surveyed employees feel training or upskilling would make them more comfortable using AI at work
• 57% of employees feel their organization’s AI training is insufficient.

One can only conclude that a greater investment in AI education and training is needed. This instructional gap fosters misunderstanding. It impacts how AI is perceived. It limits AI’s potential to provide maximum benefits for the organization and employees. Training improves individual capacity and confidence and cultivates a culture where employees feel empowered.

To maximize the return on investment (ROI) in AI, training needs to be industry-specific and must begin well before the AI is implemented. Workers need to know in advance about the role of AI in their jobs. They need to receive assurance that sufficient AI training will be provided alongside AI strategies once implemented.

With the explosive expansion of AI across a wide range of industries, the rush to implement AI to remain competitive should not come at the expense of strategic integration in ways that support a company’s key priorities. It should adequately guide employees to meet AI challenges successfully.

Proactive Individual Actions To Support Empowerment

Employee stress and anxiety about AI are on the rise. Recent surveys show:

• 48% of workers are more worried about the impact of AI on their jobs than they were a year ago.
• 36% feel hopeful about how their workplace will use AI in the future and its impact on job opportunities.
• 33% feel overwhelmed. 

What can an employee do to navigate these complex and evolving AI feelings or concerns?

• Get accurate information to guard against rumour and speculation. 
• Seek high-quality AI training opportunities to build capacity and skillsets.
• Participate in collaborative planning opportunities to make your opinion heard with how the power of AI is channelled in your job and organization.
• Focus on what you can control by communicating concerns, asking questions, and being open to solutions.
• Accept the inevitability AI changes will occur in the workplace, but don’t jump to conclusions that all changes will have a negative impact.