AI arrives at work, but its productivity-boosting ability comes into question

Bots clock in… AI’s effect on labor is still TBD (theories range from a huge increase in productivity to mass job losses), but it’s already arrived at the workplace. A February survey suggested that one in five US workers have used ChatGPT for their jobs. Last month OpenAI said it hit 1M+ paying users across its biz subscriptions, like ChatGPT Enterprise. Communication seems to be a top use case, with many customer service hours being filled by chatbots. In finance, analysts are using AI to save time on pitch decks and data entry.

With a little help from my bots… For those who work desk jobs, AI adoption is as high as 75% — and most of those employees are using their personal CGPT accounts (whether or not their bosses realize) to manage workloads. Still, 77% of workers in a survey said AI has lowered their productivity and boosted their workload, partly since the output needs to be reviewed. AI has also led to an uproar in creative industries, with video game actors on strike over the tech and authors suing genAI companies.

AIs on the future… McKinsey once estimated that AI could displace 400M workers by 2030, but others are more skeptical. An MIT economist believes just 5% of jobs are at risk of being replaced over the next decade. If companies continue pouring billions into AI and don’t see the massive productivity ROI they’re expecting, that could lead to financial troubles.