40% of managers want to replace their employees with AI: survey
Over 40% of managers in the United States are considering replacing their employees with AI due to the technology's ability to deliver high-quality output. According to a survey conducted by Beautiful.ai among 3,000 managers, 41% expressed a desire to replace employees with more cost-effective AI tools in 2024.
An additional 40% indicated their belief that AI tools could replace multiple employees while maintaining the team's productivity. Amidst this, 48% of managers expressed the belief that their businesses would experience financial benefits if a significant number of employees were replaced by AI tools in 2024.
However, it's not just job security that concerns employees; 45% of managers also viewed AI as an opportunity to reduce employee salaries due to decreased reliance on human labour. The survey results confirm employees' concerns about potential replacement by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
According to Beautiful.ai, 66% of managers noted that their employees fear becoming less valuable at work due to AI tools in 2024. Additionally, a majority of managers (62%) reported awareness among employees that AI tools could eventually lead to job loss.
Managers are also expressing apprehension about the impact of AI tools on their own compensation. About half of the surveyed managers (50%) admitted to fearing that AI implementation would lead to reduced pay for management roles.
Similarly, 48% of managers anticipate AI tools posing a threat to their own salaries and contributing to wage declines across the board in 2024, as per Beautiful.ai's findings. A previous report highlighted that occupations more exposed to AI tend to experience slightly slower wage growth.
The report stated, "For wages, the evidence is less clear and suggests neutral to slightly negative impacts." Despite these concerns, the majority of managers (90%) have integrated AI tools into their workflows, with many acknowledging its positive effects on productivity.
The Beautiful.ai report revealed that 64% of managers use AI technology on a daily or weekly basis. The report further reveals that 66% of managers are integrating AI tools primarily to bolster worker productivity and operational efficiency.
Additionally, 64% of respondents indicated that the output and productivity achieved through AI tools are comparable to that of experienced and expert human managers, with some even suggesting that AI output surpasses that of human managers entirely.
According to the survey, managers believe AI has the potential to deliver superior results across various tasks and functions, including task and project management, content generation, and presentation design.
The report emphasises that while certain applications of AI, such as task and project management, content generation, and presentation design, are readily apparent, the potential for AI integration extends far beyond these areas. The specific opportunities for leveraging AI vary based on individual roles, team dynamics, and organisational needs.