Forget Job Losses, Professionals Have New Worries About AI

Professionals are increasingly seeing AI not only as a transformative force in the workplace but also as a tool that desperately requires responsible and ethical usage. 

The Thomas Reuters Insitute recently published its Future of Professionals Report 2024,
revealing many are moving past initial fears of job losses.  

Now, they’re worried about other complications. Nearly two-thirds of professionals stressed the importance of maintaining human oversight to ensure ethical use of AI technologies. This marks a notable change in attitudes compared to previous years and represents a growing awareness and concern about the ethical implications of AI in professional settings. 

This coincides with the growing acceptance of how transformative AI will be in the workplace. 77% of respondents now believe that AI will have a high or transformational impact on their work over the next five years — a 10% increase from the previous year. This reflects an increase in professionals’ recognizing AI as a key driver of change, rather than a speculative or distant concept.  

“Professionals no longer need to speculate on the potential for AI to impact their work as they are now witnessing its effects firsthand,” Steve Hasker, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, said. “As we look to the future, one thing is clear: AI-empowered professionals and their companies will outpace those who resist this transformative era.” 

When it comes to positive changes, professionals predict that AI could free up as much as four hours per week within the next year, translating to 200 extra hours annually. This additional time could be reinvested into upskilling opportunities, strategic work, and other opportunities to improve work-life balance for individuals. However, professionals also express concerns related to responsible use of AI. 

“The strongest feelings, ethically speaking, were found around data security, with almost two-thirds of respondents agreeing that it’s a vital component of responsible use,” according to the report. “And while many respondents said that they think a portion of current work will be completed by new AI-powered technologies without the need for human review in the future, almost two-thirds said they believe that a ‘human in the loop’ is critical for responsible use.” 

The top 5 biggest worries professionals have are:  

• Overreliance on technology at the expense of skill development – 29%  
• AI being used for malicious purposes e.g. fraud – 19%  
• Privacy, confidentiality and transparency concerns – 13%  
• Widespread job loss – 10%  
• Data security implications – 9%  

These concerns grow as AI applications have become diverse and impactful across the workforce. Thomas Reuters reports that in legal fields, AI is employed for case analysis and predictive analytics. These tasks help lawyers in making data-driven decisions. In tax and accounting, AI tools assist in automating routine tasks, which allows professionals to focus on complex financial strategies.