Artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from a buzzword to a fundamental force transforming the modern workforce. AI's impact will lead to sizeable shifts across sectors, presenting tech companies with opportunities and challenges.
Already, employees are using AI tools and technologies to automate repetitive tasks, analyze data, conduct research, and improve productivity and decision-making. Roughly 1 in 4 tech workers report using AI "all the time" at work, finds a 2024 industry-wide survey of US tech workers conducted by Howdy.com.
AI use is even more prevalent among IT professionals at Howdy. A recent internal survey of over 200 LatAm tech workers found that 1 in 3 Howdy staffers use AI regularly at work.
Employees use AI to help in their work
For the most part, US tech workers feel excited about the new technology. Over 3 in 4 tech workers and Howdy staffers alike feel at least "somewhat positive" about using AI at work.
Employees use AI to help in their work
IT professionals use generative AI in the workplace for a wide range of tasks. Among tech workers who say they use AI, the most common examples of AI in the workplace include admin (47%), learning/development (44%), content creation (39%) coding (36%), and automated testing/bug detection (22%).
ChatGPT is easily, the most commonly used AI tool in the tech workplace. 84% of tech workers report using ChatGPT the most, followed by Copilot, Gemini, and DALL-E.
Companies look for AI expertise
Employees aren't the only ones embracing AI. Most tech workers agree that their companies value AI expertise, with 56% saying they work for companies with a strong AI commitment.
Use of AI is encouraged at work
Most tech workers agree that AI adoption is encouraged at work. A majority of tech workers (67%) say their employers encourage a culture of experimentation and innovation around AI, while nearly half (45%) report that their companies invest in continuous learning programs for AI proficiency and data literacy.
Similarly, 48% of tech workers say their companies have built a robust IT infrastructure for AI use and support. 61% of tech workers say their employers align AI initiatives with business goals like customer service or innovation.
Benefits of AI in the workplace
Repetitive tasks are automated, freeing up time
From data entry to proofreading, virtually any repetitive, standardized task is ripe for AI automation. By automating repetitive and time-consuming activities, tech workers free up time to focus on strategic, creative, and higher-value initiatives.
Faster, bigger data analysis & insights
AI can analyze vast datasets faster than any human. It can also look deeper into data to recognize patterns, forecast trends and detect anomalies, eliminating errors, saving time, and leading to quicker, more accurate business insights.
Content development pipeline creation
There are near-infinite possibilities for how AI can benefit the content creation process and make tech workers' jobs easier. AI content creation tools can streamline the initial stages of content creation, generating topics, identifying high-performing keywords and analyzing competitor strategies. These tools can assist in the writing process, suggesting language and grammar improvements and changes for optimizing SEO.
Accelerated research & development across vast data sources
AI technology can help tech workers accelerate their discovery process, streamline their research, and gain new insights into their products and consumers. In addition to helping with data analysis, AI-powered tools can quickly surface relevant information from the internet and vast databases of research papers, patents, and internal documents. AI can generate comprehensive research reports, summarizing key findings and methodologies. All of this cuts down the time spent on manual tasks while speeding up information processing and innovation.
Increased connections and faster hiring
AI in recruitment can connect recruiters to qualified candidates faster. AI can streamline the hiring process in many ways, from writing succinct job descriptions to actively searching for potential candidates across job boards and other platforms. AI tools can swiftly scan resumes and screen candidates against thousands of data points to understand the job-specific context, helping hiring managers make more informed decisions.
Challenges of AI in the workplace
While full of promise, AI also brings challenges to the modern workforce. The pros and cons of AI in the workplace present a nuanced approach to AI trust and use not just in tech, but also in society writ large. Ahead, we've discussed the potential problems of implementing AI in the workplace:
Job displacement
AI is changing jobs across industries, with some becoming obsolete as new ones emerge. 17% of tech workers say they worry about losing their jobs to AI.
IT employees agree that certain tech jobs are more likely to be replaced than others. 31% of tech workers predict that data engineering and analytics roles are most likely to be eliminated, followed by software development (28%), UI/UX design (13%), finance and operations (12%), and product management (11%). Tech workers think IT infrastructure roles are the least replaceable, with only 5% forecasting DevOps positions to be lost to AI.
Data privacy concerns
As AI systems become more widespread, so too do the opportunities for data misuse. AI models use large datasets to learn and function effectively, which includes sensitive personal information. As vast amounts of data are collected and processed, there is a risk the information could fall into the wrong hands through hacking or other security breaches.
Many IT employees are aware of this risk and use AI tools carefully. 76% of tech workers say they consider data privacy risks when using AI.
Bias issues
Accuracy of information
Due to inaccuracies in training data, its focus on pattern-based content generation, and the inherent limitations of the tech, AI systems can make mistakes. Acknowledging and addressing these challenges will be critical as generative AI systems become more integrated into companies's decision-making processes.
Knowledge workers are aware of AI's accuracy limitations. 49% of tech employees agree that information accuracy is the top priority in AI tool use, and 52% always manually review AI outputs for accuracy.
Ethical and regulatory implications
In addition to privacy and bias, AI raises additional ethical concerns. Despite its power and expected prevalence, there remains little consensus on how AI should be regulated and by whom. So far, organizations that build and use AI models are largely self-regulated, with virtually no U.S. government oversight and only market forces keeping them in line.
Applications in different industries
AI may prove more valuable in some IT sectors than others. When it comes to AI in the workplace, statistics from our survey show that 42% of tech workers agree that AI is most helpful for data engineering and analytics roles, while 32% think AI is most useful in software development.
On the other hand, fewer tech workers saw AI as being helpful for project management (8%), DevOps and infrastructure (7%), UI/UX (6%), and finance and operations (5%).
AI is applied in a variety of ways across sectors. For example, software development teams use AI to generate code snippets, test, debug, and improve code, and automatically generate documentation. Similarly, data engineering and analytics teams leverage AI-powered tools to automate data pipeline creation and analysis, provide predictive insights, and optimize business logic, while DevOps teams take advantage of the tech to automate testing and deployment processes and enhance security.
The future of AI in the workplace
No one can predict what will happen next with breakthrough technologies, but one thing is clear: AI is here to stay. 76% of tech workers believe the general public will fully adopt AI in the next decade. Only 38% believe AI is overhyped.
When will universal buy-in take place in the tech industry?
Most tech workers believe the tech industry will embrace AI even faster than the general public, with over 3 in 5 (44%) predicting it will take less than 5 years to achieve industry-wide adoption of AI.
Conclusion
Tech workers across industries are embracing AI, using the technology to automate repetitive tasks, analyze vast data sets, assist with research, and more. We're excited to see Howdy.com staffers lead the way, incorporating AI into their workflows to do their jobs in even better, more efficient ways than ever before.
As with all new technologies, AI comes with challenges. However, these data suggest AI — when implemented correctly and ethically— can bring about numerous positive changes in the workplace, from enhancing productivity and solving complex problems to making our jobs easier and more meaningful.
