The hype surrounding GenAI has led to widespread adoption of the breakthrough technology despite employees’ concerns about it. The technology seems to have defied the Gartner Hype Cycle or at least accelerated through it compared to other technologies.
24% of respondents in a significant sample of 1,000 US employees are using AI daily. However, 72% consider GenAI to be either a threat or a necessary evil.
The results come from a survey conducted for Zoho Corporation‘s “Data Privacy and Generative AI Usage“ study. They will be discussed later today (1800 BST, 1300 ET) in a LinkedIn event by Watching Privacy. CRM Essentials conducted the study, which looked at how employees use GenAI for work, employees’ sentiments about GenAI, and employees’ level of comfort sharing their personal data.
Brent Leary, Partner at CRM Essentials, stated, “Companies are rushing to implement generative AI without a strategic plan, foisting it on a workforce that’s understandably hesitant to jump in. Our survey meets employees where they are by demystifying their sentiment towards AI and demonstrating the best paths forward in increasing adoption of this powerful new technology.”
Usage is increasing but not yet widespread.
While 24% use GenAI daily, 37% never use it. The main reason employees are not using it is that their company doesn’t have a mandate for it yet. The survey did not appear to ask when this is likely to change, which might have indicated an adoption trend. Interestingly, 6.4% of respondents plan to use a premium service within the next few months.
However, 40% of employees who are using AI said that it has increased their productivity significantly, and 17% say that it has become indispensable to them. However, it is not all good news, and there is still fear about AI, with 46% seeing it as a threat to their job.
Without access to the data, it is difficult to identify whether it is those using AI who fear for their jobs or those who are not. While the majority see it as not a threat, the respondents were divided on whether it is complimentary (27.7%) or a necessary evil to retain their position (25.7%)
GenAI is being used in a number of different ways. The data available did not break this down by job role or industry, with the responses as follows:
- Finding quick answers to work-related questions- 19.9%
- Creating email content – 15.3%
- Video creation – 12.2%
- Summarizing long business documents – 11.6%
- Writing content – 11.2%
- Editing videos – 8%
- Writing code – 4.6%.
GenAI is also creeping into personal use. Only 18% use it only for work-related purposes while 32.5% use it mainly for work. 10% use it primarily outside work but for what, is unclear.
Is the fear irrational?
Interestingly, while some employees are fearful for their jobs, the more people use GenAI, the more comfortable they are. 78% of respondents who use AI feel that it has a positive impact on their work. That compares to 13% of non-users who also see GenAI as a positive. 56% of daily users were also happy to share personal data with generative AI, compared to 12% of non-users.
When it comes to employee evaluation, 39.3% of the respondents preferred having their work performance and behaviour evaluated by humans. However, 12.2% were comfortable with AI analyzing their work performance. It will be interesting to see whether, in future years, a larger proportion of workers might want AI to evaluate performance. It potentially offers a better unbiased quantitative assessment.
This lack of trust is concerning, although the more GenAI is rolled out, the more receptive staff will be. It is not the only factor. More regulation is needed. While the EU AI Act is a start, no federal regulation exists within the US. There are some frameworks, such as the White House Executive Order on AI (titled Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence) and the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.
Vendors are also looking to self-regulation, possibly in the hope that legislation will not appear. However, 74% of respondents claimed government legislation was needed for training AI with employee data. In addition, 75% wanted legislation to regulate IP rights for AI content creation.
This may not be a central tenet of the next US election. However, Trump and Harris do differ in their approach. Trump supports a lighter regulatory touch and has promised to repeal the Biden administration’s executive order on AI.
Privacy concerns are reduced.
The survey also highlighted some privacy issues that are core to the trust in AI. When asked about sharing their employee data with AI, 42% said the impact would be positive, and 20% viewed it as negative. Only 30% were comfortable sharing their personal data with AI. However, the top types of personal data that respondents did not want to share are insightful. The top seven were:
- Financial data -18.6%
- Personal Identification data – 16.8
- Location data – 12.2%
- Health data – 11.8%
- Biometric data – 11.1%
- Browser history – 8.9%
- Behavioural date – 8%
Again, without access to the full data set, it is difficult to determine which data types people did not wish to share overall. Also, one suspects that this relates to employers using data rather than specific industries. When asked, for example, if people would be willing to share health data with medical practitioners or financial data with banks, the answer might have been very different. Context is important.
Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist at Zoho. “The survey data demonstrates that employees stand to benefit greatly from generative AI, but their hesitancy is rooted in a lack of experience more than privacy concerns.
“Still, it is crucial for businesses to recognize the possible dangers that come with utilizing GenAI. Companies should adopt a holistic approach of gradually integrating the AI features while training their employees on how to use the technology safely within stringent guidelines to reduce risks and attain long-lasting success in the digital workplace era.“
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
There are some interesting results within this survey. However, if the survey is repeated in a year, the trending results will become even more insightful. Generative AI is taking the world by storm. However, like many other technological revolutions, there is resistance to change. There might be risks to jobs, and there might be a period where there are fewer jobs than people for them.
However, GenAI offers a brighter future, much like the Industrial Revolution, which, in time, led to a much better standard of living. The big question for businesses and governments is whether they can control progress over the next few years in a way that makes it positive for everyone.
As Vegesna points out, companies have a responsibility to their employees and the wider community. Zoho has led the way on the latter with its transnational localism. Can it help its customer organisations achieve the right guardrails around their deployment of AI?
In a recent podcast, Enterprise Times spoke to Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of AI Research at Zoho, about what businesses need to consider when adopting AI.
