Amid the reports that AI isn’t just growing in capability but also being opened up to more businesses around the world, it could be easy to worry that the technology could soon be responsible for large swathes of redundancies.
However, business owners don’t quite see it that way.
A new report from software provider Workday found that the vast majority of bosses believe that workers will still be needed to oversee AI technology and adjudicate on its decisions and outputs.
Workday surveyed 1,000 business owners and found that, whilst 77% believed that artificial intelligence tools could offer improved efficiency and productivity, a whopping 93% believed humans should have a say in the decisions made by AI tools.
This, Techradar notes, shows that AI is more likely to be used to aid workers rather than replace them.
Elsewhere, Workday discovered that even in spite of grand proclamations by the AI industry, business owners are yet to be convinced on its practical applications.
Fewer than three in ten (29%) reported feeling confident that AI or machine learning solutions could be deployed ethically in their business. That said, there was cautious optimism on this subject, with 52% expecting their worries to be addressed within the next five years.
Another concern was security, with 48% of respondents having serious reservations when it comes to the usage and storage of business-critical data. Currently only the largest and wealthiest companies are viewed as the ones able to use an AI solution that offers sufficient protections.
When presenting these results, chief technology officer for Workday, Jim Stratton, explained that whilst business leaders “understand that AI and ML (machine learning) are critical to success in the future of work… concerns around data integrity, ethics, and role elimination persist.”
He added: “Successful adoption of AI and ML require a commitment to keeping humans in the decision-making loop and working with partners who are committed to responsible AI and maintaining data integrity.”
