AI is replacing human labor more quickly than you may imagine.

TFD – Corporate America is rapidly embracing artificial intelligence to automate tasks traditionally done by humans. According to a recent survey, nearly half of large US corporations plan to deploy AI within the next year. This swift adoption raises both opportunities and concerns about potential risks and the future of the workforce.

Artificial intelligence is being quickly adopted by corporate America to automate tasks that were previously performed only by humans.

According to a study of finance executives released on Thursday, nearly half (46%) of large US corporations expect to deploy AI within the next year to automate work traditionally done by employees.

According to a poll by Duke University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, these responsibilities range from financial reporting to paying suppliers and completing bills.

That’s on top of the creative jobs that some companies currently use ChatGPT and other AI chatbots to help with, such creating job postings, press releases, and marketing campaigns.

According to the research, businesses are using AI more and more to save expenses, increase revenue, and improve employee productivity.

“You cannot be leading a creative organization without giving these technologies careful thought. In a phone interview with CNN, Duke finance professor and survey academic director John Graham said, “You run the risk of being left behind.”

The CFO Survey, a collaboration of Duke and the Atlanta Fed, found that nearly one in three (32%) firms — large or small — plan to use AI in the next year to complete tasks once done by humans.

Why employers are using AI

A portion of this is already occurring, particularly in bigger businesses with the resources to test AI.

Nearly 60% of all companies (and 84% of large companies) surveyed said that over the past year they have already leaned on software, equipment or technology including AI to automate tasks employees previously did. The time frame for conducting the study was May 13– June 3.

For a number of reasons, including cost savings on hiring human labor, bosses are resorting to AI.

According to the CFO Survey, businesses are utilizing automation to boost output (49%), lower labor costs (47%), improve product quality (58% of firms), and replace workers (33%).

The good news for workers is that some experts don’t think AI will result in a mass loss of jobs—at least not immediately.

Graham stated, “I don’t think there will be a lot of job loss in the year.” In the near term, this will primarily include filling in some gaps and maybe delaying recruiting someone they otherwise would have hired, but not terminating anyone. That’s partly because everything about this is brand-new.

Are AI copilots coming soon?

Nevertheless, if they haven’t already, workers will be impacted by the deployment of AI.

“Humans might have more time to prioritize what is most fulfilling and important,” Graham added.

Reid Hoffman, the billionaire investor and co-founder of LinkedIn, told CNN that AI will likely disrupt some jobs but not in the immediate future.

Regarding when AI will replace humans, Hoffman stated, “Years, not decades, but years, not months.” “I think that in three to five years, everyone will have a kind of agent co-pilot who assists with everything from dinner preparation to work and writing, and so on.

Hoffman noted that it will be a co-pilot for a while rather than a pilot. Hoffman co-wrote “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI” last year with help from ChatGPT-4.

It’s a change in jobs. AI will replace human workers, but those workers will be replaced by other humans, he said. “The idea behind AI is that humans should use it, learn how to do it, and make it happen.”

AI and price increases

For the time being, pressures from inflation and the cost of living continue to worry employers and workers.

According to the CFO Survey, US chief financial officers’ top concern for the upcoming year is inflation, with interest rates and monetary policy coming in second.

The majority of CFOs (57%) anticipate that their items’ prices will rise this year more quickly than usual.

Nonetheless, the inflation forecast based on the uptake of new technologies differed. According to the survey, businesses that have incorporated automation in the last 12 months anticipate a slower increase in prices than those that haven’t.

The professor from Duke, Graham, stated that while AI might someday help restrain price increases, he is not hopeful that technology would immediately play a significant role in lowering inflation.

He remarked, “It doesn’t feel like it will be the cure in the next year.”

“Highly significant risks”

The CFO survey demonstrates how quickly businesses are utilizing AI, despite the fact that legal and safety frameworks are still being developed.

Some are concerned about the quick adoption of AI in certain sectors, notably finance.

In a speech earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen issued a warning, stating that financial organizations’ use of AI presents both “tremendous opportunities and significant risks.”

The chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, said in a report released last week that the use of AI by hedge funds is already “insufficiently addressed” by the repeal of the legislation.

The report issued a warning, stating that “when and whether a human must be involved in decision making, including related to trading decisions,” there are “no regulations or requirements.”

As businesses in all industries experiment with AI, Graham, the Duke professor, advised them to have robust risk management procedures and redundancies in place.

“AI has been adopted very quickly,” he stated. “Hopefully, this is being done with caution. Companies who moved a bit too quickly may find themselves in humiliating supply chain or product difficulties in certain cases.