It will come as no surprise to anyone who has turned around an 18-slide PowerPoint deck last minute on a Friday afternoon, but most workers who use AI say it’s helping them get stuff done faster.
What happened: A Gallup survey of employees in the U.S. found that 63% of those who had used AI in their job said it allowed them to finish tasks faster, and 56% agreed that it helped them find more creative solutions.
Yes, but: Just because a task is done doesn’t mean it’s done well. Workers were evenly split on whether AI helped them produce higher-quality work, and other research has found that 40% of employees have had the misfortune of dealing with “workslop” — AI-generated work products that may look good at first blush, but actually lack substance and rigour.
Gallup’s report also found that the perceived benefits of AI are unevenly distributed, with workers in higher-paid managerial roles more likely to say that AI is helpful in finishing tasks faster and freeing up time for more interesting work.
There’s also the matter of adoption: 54% of respondents said they weren’t using AI at all in their jobs, and only 28% use it weekly.
Why it matters: The findings are a sign that the AI rollout is still in its early innings, and its impact on work is still uncertain. What that eventual impact will be, and whether it will justify the vast sums being poured into the technology — more than $1 trillion this year alone, by some estimates — is the question looming over the entire economy right now.—TS
