Given the volume of headlines underscoring the time-saving utility of artificial intelligence (AI) in business operations today, you'd imagine that the vast majority of enterprises are up to their elbows in AI technology, reaping the time-saving (and cost-saving) benefits left and right.
But according to a new study commissioned by AI business school Section, you may be wrong.
Section's research report, titled “the AI Proficiency Report,” found that only 7% of knowledge workers are reportedly using AI actively in their day-to-day operations.
Section surveyed over one thousand knowledge workers in the United States, Canada and the UK to test proficiency, knowledge, and usage of AI. They uncovered four distinct AI types: the AI Class (7%), AI Experimenters (25%), AI Newcomers (57%) and AI Skeptics (11%).
The study highlights the emergence of an “AI Class” in the knowledge workforce, a small segment of workers who are saving up to 30% of their time each week using AI. The AI Class use AI every day, for more than three use cases, and they’re 25% more productive than everyone else – but they only make up 7% of the knowledge workforce today. The AI Class uses AI every day (87%) and these workers save as much as 12 hours of time each week.
The data also emphasizes the importance of building strong prompting skills. The research found that those who know how to prompt effectively are more likely to feel optimistic about AI, use it more and see productivity gains and time savings.
Company policies also seem to play a significant role in how proficient and efficient knowledge workers are with AI. 96% of AI Class members are in companies with clear AI approval, as compared to just 39% of AI Skeptics. 44% of AI Skeptics are in companies with no AI policy at all. Only 2% of people receiving formal AI training remain AI Skeptics.
“Employees are hearing either hype or doom on AI from the media, and they need their companies to step in and take a strong stance on deployment and training,” said Greg Shove, CEO of Section. “Our research shows only 2% of people who received formal AI training remained skeptical about its abilities.”
What will the next updates in the AI space be? As the saying goes, time will tell.
Edited by
Alex Passett
