AI in the workplace: majority of Germans consider themselves irreplaceable

Many employees in Germany are ignoring the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the world of work when it comes to their job. A slight majority of employees (53%) believe that the hyped technology will play a major role in their job in five years' time. However, 44% are of the opposite opinion and expect little or no impact. 72% also believe that their job cannot be replaced by AI. These are the findings of a representative Forsa survey conducted for the TÜV Association among 1001 people aged 16 and over, including 668 employees.

According to the analysis of the survey conducted in October, 31% of employees in Germany use generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for professional purposes. In the population as a whole, the proportion of AI users is 53%, as many respondents only use the applications privately. However, only a few participants currently see a risk to their job. It is true that every second employee assumes that "very many people" will lose their job as a result of the spread of AI. However, only 7% believe that it could affect them personally. In addition, only 37% of employees are concerned that they will be "left behind professionally" if they do not master the technology. However, 60 percent of employees consider further training on the subject of AI to be useful for their professional activities.

Another finding: Most organizations lack clear guidelines for the use of AI in the workplace. Only 19 percent of employees state that their employer has issued specific requirements for this. Of these, 4 percent say that use is explicitly prohibited. If there are regulations, these relate to data protection (76%), sensitive information (63%) or copyright (61%). As many as 54% oblige their employees to carry out a fact check on AI-generated content. 78% of Germans say they check the results of ChatGPT and the like by carrying out further research.

Don't lose touch

The "transformative power" of AI is underestimated, according to the recently published D21 Digital Index 2024: 50 percent of professionals consider it a useful tool for unpleasant and monotonous tasks. However, many did not yet expect a fundamental change in their workplace. In this survey, 15 percent feared that they would no longer be needed as a result of AI. However, 77% of Germans expect certain activities or professions to disappear by 2035 as a result of digitalization. According to the Washington Post, programming jobs in the US have fallen by more than a quarter in the past two years. The timing coincides with the release of ChatGPT by OpenAI at the end of 2022.

The TÜV association warns that companies should develop an AI strategy and train their employees. According to the AI Act, further training has been mandatory since February anyway. Companies that develop AI systems themselves or use them must ensure that their employees have the relevant specialist knowledge. Joachim Bühler, Managing Director of the TÜV Association, is convinced that AI will "fundamentally change many work processes in almost all professional fields – from plant engineering to dental technology". The consequences will be similar to the introduction of the PC or the internet: "Either employees learn how to use AI applications or they will be left behind."

(vbr)