Amanda Williamson thinks for the moment AI will end up being complementary to jobs, rather than a tool to replace them.
Amanda Williamson thinks for the moment AI will end up being complementary to jobs, rather than a tool to replace them.
The majority of New Zealanders fear artificial intelligence will take their jobs, but that hasn’t stopped them from using it.
A survey of 1000 people conducted by market research firm Perceptive and commissioned by One NZ shows conflicting attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI): 65% fear job losses, 62% worryabout the use of AI leading to unfair decision-making, 67% of people were concerned about the misuse of personal data, and 47% did not trust large companies to use AI ethically.
None of this has prevented people from adopting AI, with 77% of respondents saying they had knowingly used AI services over the past year.
However, there are generational differences with 90% of 18 to 34-year-olds having interacted with AI compared to 60% of people aged 55 years and older.
One NZ CEO Jason Paris suspected the number of New Zealanders who actually used AI services was much higher.
“I reckon 100% of Kiwis are using AI, 77% of them knowingly,” he said.
"I reckon 100% of Kiwis are using AI, 77% of them knowingly” - One NZ CEO Jason Paris. Photo / Michael Craig
“Because if you think about Google maps, or Spotify, or Netflix, Instagram, or even just email, they have they’ve all got AI algorithms embedded in them.”
The One NZ survey findings are consistent with other studies, including a University of Melbourne and KPMG study which found only 34% of New Zealanders trusted AI, one of the lowest scores globally.
A global poll by Ipsos, which did not include New Zealand, found a global average of 65% of people thought it was likely artificial intelligence would lead to job losses, with 66% of Australians thinking so.
Senior lecturer at the University of Waikato and Deloitte generative AI lead Amanda Williamson acknowledged concerns about the impact of AI on employment had been growing within the wider public recently.
“We’re certainly getting the sense from people that fear of job loss is huge.”
Willamson said her mother had also reminded her recently that this wasn’t the first time her family had to shift occupations due to technological advances.
