The right way to use AI at work

"If you listen to the CEOs of elite AI companies or take even a passing glance at the U.S. economy, it's abundantly obvious that AI excitement is everywhere. America's biggest tech companies have spent over $100 billion on AI so far this year, and Deutsche Bank reports that AI spending is the only thing keeping the United States out of a recession. Yet if you look at the average non-tech company, AI is nowhere to be found. Goldman Sachs reports that only 14% of large companies have deployed AI in a meaningful way."

"The study, conducted by Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI and Digital Economy Lab and currently available as a pre-print, looks at the daily habits of 1,500 American workers across 104 different professions. They also created what's essentially a No Light zone for tasks that AI is bad at, and that people don't want it to do anyway. The results are striking. Workers overwhelmingly want AI to automate away the boring bits of their jobs."

A survey of 1,500 American workers across 104 professions reports that 69.4% want AI to free up time for higher-value work and 46.6% want AI to handle repetitive tasks. Workers prefer AI for administrative chores like coordinating deliveries or messaging customers, while retaining human control over core skilled tasks such as cooking. A designated 'No Light' zone lists tasks that AI performs poorly and that workers do not want automated. Despite over $100 billion in AI spending by major tech firms and claims that AI spending supports the U.S. economy, only 14% of large companies have meaningfully deployed AI. Many firms implement AI in ways that misalign with worker preferences, creating a gap between investment and workplace impact.

Read at Fast Company