IT and finance workers fear their jobs could be at risk – due to ChatGPT

IT, finance, and business service workers fear elements of their job could be at risk – because of ChatGPT. A poll, of 2,000 employed adults, found 56 percent are worried parts of their role could be made redundant following the recent rise of the AI platform.

Those in education (58 percent) and HR (63 percent) are also nervous about this emerging tech.

Writing tasks (49 percent), customer services (47 percent), and coding (33 percent) are seen as the first that could be replaced with ChatGPT in the workplace.

However, as the natural language processing tool continues to grow, a third of those polled don’t know where to begin to ensure they have the skills employers want in the future.

And 29 percent admitted they haven’t done enough to develop their skills to keep up with the changes being made in the workplace.

But 83 percent believe no matter how advanced the technology becomes, it can never replace the “human touch” workers bring to their jobs.

The research was commissioned by professional training firm STL, which has also developed a quiz challenging users to guess whether content has been created by a human or an AI bot.

A spokesman said: “Whenever a ground-breaking tech emerges, it can make workers nervous – and it’s no surprise many are cautious about their career prospects since ChatGPT launched.

“It really is remarkable just what this tech can achieve in such early stages of its development – and what our research shows is that workers must really explore how they can stay ahead of the curve.

“But it is not all doom and gloom – with new tech always comes new opportunities, and it is just as important we learn how it can support how we perform certain tasks.”

When asked which industries workers felt could be most at risk from AI, translation (37 percent) and web development (34 percent) were among the most common.

And they also believe those who work in marketing, advertising, and PR (26 percent) should be cautious about its capabilities.

It emerged 58 percent would consider retraining for an industry which is AI-proof, as 22 percent admitted they dislike embracing technology with automated processes.

However, 39 percent of workers are considering using ChatGPT to help streamline some of their processes at work.

Nearly three in ten (29 percent) said their workplace has introduced AI in some capacity to help with efficiency – and, of these, 82 percent have noticed an improvement with their productivity.

But overall, 67 percent remain apprehensive about it being able to handle complex or creative tasks that require human judgment.

The survey, conducted via OnePoll, also found 67 percent of workers have tried to learn a new skill in the last 18 months.

And 88 percent feel it is important to continually learn new skills for their job – with 74 percent willing to invest their personal time to upskill.

The STL spokesman added: “It is great to learn from the research that workers recognise the importance of upskilling.

“No matter how secure you feel in your role, something can come along – like ChatGPT – to really throw the cat among the pigeons.

“Which is why it is never a bad idea to take some time to evaluate just what skills you might need to brush up on, to offer continued value to your employer.”