Generative AI Could Make Your Office More, Not Less, Crowded — And With People, Not Robots

For those who find the day’s news about the prospects for people who work for a living a touch bleak, some rosier predictions are out concerning that currently fashionable obsession, generative AI.

Despite the most dire projections — and recent news suggesting that the Cassandras may not be all that off the mark — it appears that AI is not going to cause mass firings after all. Rather, a new study suggests that the hottest technology around will, in fact, lead to companies hiring more people.

The talent site Upwork fielded feedback from 1,400 business leaders in the U.S. and found that nearly 6 in 10 are personally embracing AI software, as brands like ChatGPT and Midjourney reinvent how even the most luddite, grammar-incompetent among us churn out highly authoritative content. Two-thirds of C-suite executives say their companies will increase hiring as adoption of the AI becomes more widespread, with half expecting to hire more freelancers and the same share eyeing bringing on more full-time staff. A majority (64%) project hiring across all professional levels because of the technology.

But not everybody is as bullish as the boss, it appears.

The study found a disconnect between company leadership and their employees when it comes to the future of generative AI. Just over half of senior managers surveyed by Upwork say their companies are embracing generative AI, in stark contrast to their more enthusiastic CEOs.

Among other findings of the survey, mid-sized companies are leading the adoption of generative AI, with more than 6 in 10 firms with between 500 and 5,000 employees leveraging the technology, versus just 41% of companies with more than 5,000 workers.

Remote-first companies are also more apt to adopt AI — nearly 7 in 10, in fact, versus just a little more than half of companies whose people are in the office full-time.

Kelly Monahan, managing director of Upwork Research Institute and a former future of work researcher at Meta, Accenture and Deloitte, suggests that businesses aiming to bridge this gap consider adopting a strategy that includes communicating expected outcomes for the workforce, as well as clear policies around the technolody. “It’s important that leaders address fear and uncertainty, and perhaps most critically, encourage their teams to adopt a learning orientation,” she said.

Far from killing jobs, the widespread interest in AI has, in fact, led to a whole range of startups centered around teaching people how to use the technology and incorporate it into their workplaces. Elsewhere, Microsoft is now offering free generative AI skills and training courses, as is Google, while the digital assistance platform Merlyn Mind launched an education-focused large language model (LLM) for integrating AI in the classroom.