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As the debate rages on about whether artificial intelligence (AI) will ultimately make certain jobs or careers obsolete, a new report revealed an unexpected insight: majority of employees want to turn to AI, not against it.
Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index showed 78 per cent of workers surveyed from 14 markets in the Asia-Pacific region would delegate work as much as possible to AI to reduce their workloads.
Vinod Muralidharan, the general manager of modern work at Microsoft Asia, noted that employees across Asia Pacific are “optimistic about AI”.
“AI represents a whole new way of working, as it moves from autopilot to co-pilot, freeing us from digital debt and fueling innovation,” he stated.
Looking at the bigger picture, the survey of 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets showed more than three in four workers — or 78 per cent of the respondents — said they are comfortable with AI taking over not only administrative tasks, but also the analytical (79 per cent) and (73 per cent) creative aspects of their work.
Notably, data showed employees are also looking for AI to pass the baton when it comes to getting the right information and answers they need (86 per cent), summarising their meetings and action items (80 per cent), and planning their day (77 per cent).
The findings come as the majority of surveyed employees reported being overwhelmed by the volume of data, emails, and chats that they need to process in a day.
Recently, findings of a study conducted by Oracle showed business leaders nationwide are feeling overwhelmed and lacking decision-making confidence due to the constant influx of data, leading to a “decision-making crisis”.
About 72 per cent of APAC respondents reported not having enough time and energy to complete their work tasks. They are also three times more likely to say they struggle with innovation.
“It’s fascinating that people are more excited about AI rescuing them from burnout than they are worried about it eliminating their jobs,” said report author and organisational psychology professor Adam Grant.
Mr Muralidharan highlighted that as work evolves with AI, business leaders must also keep up.
“The most pressing opportunity and responsibility for every leader is to understand how to leverage AI to remove the drudgery of work, unleash creativity, and build AI aptitude,” he said.
