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Artificial Intelligence Technology

One in four Brits worry AI could take their job

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By Gillian West, Social media manager

December 10, 2017 | 3 min read

Almost half (42.3%) of UK citizens believe artificial intelligence (AI) will take jobs in the future, with one in four worried AI is coming for their job role.

AI has been the subject of many films and studies

AI has been the subject of many films and studies

Research of 1,500 Brits from IPG Mediabrands agency, Initiative, revealed those working in the well-paid finance and insurance sectors were the most concerned about being replaced by machines, with a third (33.3%) worried about the implications of AI and their job role.

Second most concerned were workers in manufacturing with 29.9% believing that AI could take their job, those in construction were found to be less worried with 12.6% of workers thinking AI could have an impact on their job.

According to the study, when people think of the positives of AI, they see it as good alternative for undertaking dangerous (40.3%) or mundane tasks (35.4%), rather than tasks which benefit from more rational decision-making (15.7%).

The research also revealed over a third (41.6%) of Brits believe AI to be a poor substitute for human relationships, preferring for it not to take on personal or emotive capacities around relationships, education, entertainment and advertising.

“These figures suggest that many people regard AI as merely a form of robotics, and fail to understand that it potentially has the ability to learn and make decisions,” explained Ben Haley, head of insight for Initiative.

“It seems that people are happy with the presence of AI in their lives, as long as it’s not too lifelike or intrusive. So chatbots and simple robots that cook our dinners and keep us secure are OK, but ones that try to act like humans, or threaten our jobs, are not.”

AI is already being used by a number of brands an advertisers with McCann even employing an AI creative director, most recently AI-CD β created a music video for Japanese pop band Magical Punchline based on ‘optimal elements’ needed.

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