I’ll admit I was surprised to see the results from this recent study by Intelligize in which 110 of their customers (so admittedly a small sample size, but still not puny) responded. The lack of fear about generative AI seems to cut against the grain from what I glean when I talk to people.
The results include these five lessons learned:
- 30% Use AI at Work – More than two-thirds had experimented with AI in some way – and more than a third of those had used it for non-professional tasks. A full 30%, meanwhile, had used generative AI at work.
- 25% Use AI a Lot – Nearly a quarter claimed to be either extremely or very familiar with AI tools. Consultants claimed the most familiarity, with half characterizing themselves as extremely or very familiar. More than a third said that they use AI either occasionally or all the time.
- Optimism Reigns Over AI Use – Perhaps more notable was the lack of concern — if not optimism — about its role in business. A mere 3.8% felt negatively about it being used in their roles. There was little concern that AI would take jobs, with less than 10% saying they were extremely concerned and just 6% saying they were very concerned. Few expressed a high level of concern about ethical issues associated with the use of AI in the workplace.
- Age Doesn’t Matter – The familiarity with, and generally positive feelings about, AI cut across all seniority levels, puncturing any conventional wisdom that more senior employees would be more reluctant adopters.
- 13% Use AI to Draft Disclosure – Among those using AI at work, the greatest numbers were using it to discover information, either by asking questions directly or using it as a starting point for research. The least popular tasks were the most substantive, although non-negligible percentages used AI for analyzing, summarizing, and comparing disclosures, with 13% reported using AI to draft disclosures, with more than 50% saying it’s suitable to help with disclosure.
