A recent Gallup survey unveiled a notable surge in ‘FOBO’—the fear of becoming obsolete—among college-educated workers due to advancements in AI. While fewer than a quarter of the surveyed 1,000 workers worry about AI replacing their jobs, there’s been a substantial 7% rise in this concern since 2021. Specifically, nearly 20% of college-educated workers expressed anxiety, marking a significant increase from 8% two years ago. This unease extends across age groups, with almost 30% of individuals aged 18 to 34 and over 20% of those aged 35 to 54 sharing apprehensions about AI’s impact, up from 17% in 2021.
Income also plays a role, as 27% of those earning less than $100,000, compared to 17% earning $100,000 or more, express discomfort about technology making their roles obsolete. However, job security—retaining pay and benefits—remains the top concern for workers. About 31% fear losing job benefits, while 24% worry about wage reductions. Gallup highlighted the evolving perception of AI, moving beyond the notion of robots replacing manual workers. Generative AI has now delved into sophisticated language-based tasks online, triggering concerns among educated workers regarding their career implications.
To address these concerns, companies can integrate AI into learning and development initiatives, essential for organizational resilience. Additionally, investing in AI training tools to facilitate upskilling and reskilling can alleviate employee stress. Encouragingly, HR managers emphasize the indispensability of ‘human’ skills—interpersonal, cognitive, problem-solving, and imaginative abilities—for success in the AI era.
Some tech professionals believe generative AI will create more job demand, citing its potential to automate tasks, boost efficiency, and free up time for essential cognitive skills. Walmart’s AI program, aiming to enhance productivity and foster innovation, stands as an organizational approach, contrasting with the ‘bring your own AI’ model linked to security and authenticity concerns.
Experts caution that AI tools lack judgment and understanding of context, urging thorough employee training before implementing such programs. They advocate for understanding AI’s mechanisms, monitoring for biases, and ensuring human oversight in decision-making processes to mitigate risks associated with AI implementation.
