Study: One-third of worker expect ChatGPT & Co to make their daily work easier
Representative survey by IU on the advantages, expectations and company use of AI bots such as ChatGPT
Representative survey by IU on the advantages, expectations and company use of AI bots such as ChatGPT.
- 18.5 percent of employers already use ChatGPT & Co are considering using it in the future.
- 45.1 percent of respondents think that ChatGPT & Co is the most profound change since the invention of the internet; just as many think that the world of work will change even faster than the internet due to AI bots.
- In five years, 40.5 percent of respondents expect technologies like ChatGPT to have a great or very great impact on their professional lives.
- 30.8 percent of respondents in Gen Z rate ChatGPT & Co as a threat to their workplace in the future; this is significantly more than the average of all respondents (19.5 percent).
- Dr Markus Schmitz, CIO of the Federal Employment Agency: “Younger people will be most affected by the impact of AI.”
Erfurt, Germany, 27 June 2023. 35.4 percent of working people in Germany believe that AI technologies such as ChatGPT will relieve them of their routine tasks in the future and thus make their everyday working lives easier. 33.4 percent of respondents believe that these AI bots can support them in their professional competencies and skills. Generation Z is the most likely to be concerned about their professional future - older generations such as the baby boomers tend to be more relaxed about the effects of AI in comparison. These are the findings of the representative study "ChatGPT & Co at Work - Impact on the World of Work" conducted by IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) among 2,030 German employees, entrepreneurs and self-employed persons in April 2023.
According to the IU study, the German working population mainly hopes that technologies such as ChatGPT will facilitate research (48.3 percent) and make work more efficient and faster (43.8 percent). Only 9.3 percent see no advantages, and this despite the fact that 34.3 percent of respondents consider AI technologies like ChatGPT to be useful to very useful for their job.
For many workers, the new technologies bring profound changes: 45.1 percent see AI programmes like ChatGPT as the most profound change since the invention of the internet. Just as many (45.1 percent) believe that AI bots will change the world of work even faster than the internet.
The younger, the more frequent the expected impact and concerns
16.2 percent of respondents see a (very) big impact of AI technologies like ChatGPT on today's working life. In five years, significantly more workers (40.5 percent) expect a great to very great impact. Generation Z in particular expects a (very) big impact in five years with over 50.6 percent. Generation X and the baby boomers, on the other hand, see less of an impact in five years, at 36.6 percent and 33.0 percent respectively.
When it comes to questions about the professional future and the workplace, there are sometimes clear differences between the generations:
According to the study results, Generation Z in particular is concerned: A quarter of Gen Z respondents (24.9 percent) expressed "somewhat concerned" or "very concerned" about the impact of technologies such as ChatGPT on their professional future in the survey. In comparison: On average, 17.8 percent of respondents did so.
Among Gen X respondents (41 to 55 years) and Baby Boomers (56 to 65 years), 16.0 and 16.3 percent respectively are "somewhat concerned" or "very concerned" about their professional future.
When asked to what extent ChatGPT poses a threat to the workplace in the future, 30.8 per cent of Gen Z representatives agreed "strongly" or "somewhat" than the average of all respondents (19.5 per cent).
Among the older generations, significantly fewer agreed "fully" or "somewhat": Generation Y (20.9 percent), Generation X (17.5 percent), Baby Boomers (15.5).
Dr Markus Schmitz, CIO of the Federal Employment Agency, comments on the impact of AI on the world of work and especially on Generation Z as follows:
"Through the use of AI, certain tasks are automated and done more efficiently, leading to changes in the way we work. AI can take on repetitive tasks, analyse data and provide insights, solve complex problems and even, in some cases, enable human-like interactions. This will make certain jobs obsolete, but of course it will also create new areas of work. It is therefore only understandable if many are worried about their professional future. This is even more the case for younger people, because they will be the most affected by the impact of AI. Approaches such as Human Friendly Automation are thus becoming more and more important, as is our career guidance for young people and those just starting their careers."
AI has not yet arrived in corporate reality
ChatGPT has been available to the general public since the end of 2022. According to the respondents, 18.5 percent of employers, as well as those who identify as entrepreneurs or self-employed persons use ChatGPT in some form, or are considering using it in the future.
61.4 percent of the respondents are of the opinion that special training is necessary to be able to use ChatGPT & Co in a meaningful way. However, only 10.0 percent of companies have so far offered such training or are planning to do so.
"I use AI like ChatGPT on a daily basis and am already experiencing a significant increase in productivity. However, these programmes are only at the beginning of their evolutionary journey and will continue to develop rapidly. I see huge potential for transformative changes in the way we work and live. Training is the key to unleashing this revolution. I recommend that every individual and every company take a hard look at AI now."
Dr. Thomas Fink, Director of IU Academy, IU International University of Applied Sciences.
ABOUT THE STUDY
For the IU study "ChatGPT & Co at Work - Impact on the World of Work", 2,030 working people in Germany between the ages of 16 and 65 were surveyed, representative of the German labour market by age and gender. The survey period was 14 to 24 April 2023.
With over 130,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-recognised educational institution with its headquarters in Erfurt began operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 35 German cities. Students from over 190 nations design their studies according to their needs: whether practice-integrated dual studies, flexible distance learning or individual “myStudium”, which combines online self-study and campus life. IU wants to give people worldwide access to personalised education for a fulfilled and self-determined life. In more than 250 bachelor's, master's and MBA programmes, including over 50 in English, IU teaches students key skills relevant to the future. A digitally supported learning environment and the use of AI solutions help students to achieve optimal learning results and experiences. IU is one of the first universities in the world to have developed and deployed its own AI-supported learning buddy. IU cooperates with over 15,000 companies and supports them in the academic training of professionals. Partners include Motel One, Vodafone, AWO and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: iu.org
The AI-supported learning buddy "Syntea" is now available as a public demo version in the ChatGPT store at the following link: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-P5olqoCPc-syntea
