Artificial intelligence is reshaping the workplace at a speed that no one anticipated, and not everyone feels ready for the change. A new study from Lightyear surveyed 1,000 Americans on how they are reacting to the AI boom and how it is affecting their personal and professional lives, revealing one of the most striking findings: 49% of today’s workers fear AI will take their job.
The concern is widespread. A staggering seventy percent of Americans say that AI will hurt U.S. employment overall. Almost a quarter (24%) think that it might create jobs at first but will cause long-term damage, while 46% believe it will eliminate jobs both now and in the future. The younger workforce is most worried; the survey found that 20% of Gen Z workers experience daily anxiety about AI’s eventual takeover of their jobs.
Despite these concerns, the survey found that most workers aren’t taking active steps to try to protect their jobs. Only 1 in 10 workers said they are actively upskilling to stay competitive with AI. For those who are learning new AI-related job skills, Gen Z is leading the way, 67% are actively developing AI skills, and nearly half (44%) have already seen a boost in their career or paychecks because of this.
This gap between awareness and action may come down to trust. Over half of Americans (51%) believe large corporations will be the biggest winners in the AI era, making many question whether personal upskilling will translate into personal gain. The challenge now is whether workers, and the companies employing them, can bridge that divide before the future of work arrives in full.
Explore the full survey here: https://lightyear.ai/blogs/chatgpt-nation-the-states-leading-and-ignoring-the-ai-boom
