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Millennials and Gen Zers are the most concerned about AI and their jobs

Jun 8, 2023, 20:39 IST
Business Insider
AI is here. Moor Studio/Getty Images Plus
  • Millennials and Gen Zers are "extremely or very" concerned about how AI will affect their careers.
  • Gen Zers haven't lived through as many tech evolutions as Gen Xers and Boomers.
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It might have always been inevitable that artificial intelligence — particularly generative AI — would change the way we live and work.

From using PI to be your work friend, to boosting productivity, folks are trying it out.

Now that it's here, it's going to require a skillset shift and a mindset shift, KPMG's Sandy Torchia, vice chair of talent and culture, told Insider. It will take time to embrace this technology, but "it's going to change the way we work in a very positive way."

Millennials (48%) and Gen Zers (44%) are "extremely or very concerned" about the role that AI will play in their careers, according to the KPMG Talent Survey of 1,035 US adults, conducted from mid-April to May 1.

Gen Xers and Boomers are not as concerned.

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This isn't any surprise, Torchia explained, partly because Boomers and maybe some Gen Xers are closer to retirement and "lived through a lot of technology change — or a lot of change in general — and they've seen the results of the impact of that change."

Younger generations might be more concerned because they're traditionally early adopters of technology. "They've never known a point where they didn't have technology," and "they haven't lived through generations of changes like Gen Xers and the Boomers," Torchia siad.

Indeed, Insider's UK bureau chief, Spriha Srivastava, has written how the flurry of Gen AI tools is getting out of control, creating a generational divide.

But at the end of the day, this "translates itself into an opportunity" because "we have a responsibility to train people on how to responsibly use Gen AI to get work done," Torchia said.

Of course, there's widespread concern — including from the 'godfather of AI' — around the lack of guardrails for developing AI safely and firms like PwC and KPMG are rolling out training programs. These types of efforts are meant to help "demystify the impact that Gen AI has on our jobs," Torchia said.

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My colleague Matt Turner has written that while AI will make many more productive, it could disproportionately impact the middle class of white-collar workers — the folks who are mid-career, mid-ability, mid-level, and yes, in some cases, mediocre.

Just with any new technology that has been rolled out over the past 20 years, people have to use it consistently and be trained on it. There's still a lot to unpack, like how Generative AI has made job searches weirder.

While KPMG's survey shows that half of respondents are considering moving to a job that offers a less direct threat from emerging tech like AI, Torchia said the firm is looking at combating the fear and insecurity through training.

Torchia is taking a positive stance because who doesn't want to be able to be more efficient and more effective? "We have a responsibility to train people on how to responsibly use Gen AI to get work done."

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