Over half of employed adults (56%) fear that emerging AI platform, ChatGPT, could threaten their future job security – with those working in translation considered to be most at risk (37%) from the technology.
Workers involved in web development (34%), and advertising, marketing, and PR (26%), are also concerned about the impact of the AI tech on their job role.
And when it comes to workplace tasks that could most easily be taken over by ChatGPT, half of workers (49%) feel that writing tasks would be the first – followed by customer services (47%), and coding (33%).
Concerningly, 29%, of the 2,000 workers polled, feel they have not done enough to develop their skills to keep up with the changes being made in the workplace.
And as the natural language processing tool continues to grow, a third of those polled don’t know where to begin to ensure they have the skills employers want in the future.
However, 83% believe no matter how advanced the technology becomes, it can never replace the “human touch” workers bring to their jobs.
The research was commissioned by professional training firm STL, which has also developed a quiz challenging users to guess whether content has been created by a human or an AI bot.
A spokesman said: “Whenever a ground-breaking tech emerges, it can make workers nervous – and it’s no surprise many are cautious about their career prospects since ChatGPT launched.
“It really is remarkable just what this tech can achieve in such early stages of its development – and what our research shows is that workers must really explore how they can stay ahead of the curve.
“But it is not all doom and gloom – with new tech always comes new opportunities, and it is just as important we learn how it can support how we perform certain tasks.”
Other industries that are wary of the rise of ChatGPT include HR (63%) and education (58%), as well as the IT, business, and finance sectors.
It also emerged that 58% would even consider retraining for an industry which is AI-proof, as 22% admitted they dislike embracing technology with automated processes.
However, 39% of workers are considering using ChatGPT to help streamline some of their processes at work.
Nearly three in ten (29%) said their workplace has introduced AI in some capacity to help with efficiency – and, of these, 82% have noticed an improvement with their productivity.
But overall, 67% remain apprehensive about it being able to handle complex or creative tasks that require human judgment.
The survey, conducted via OnePoll, also found 67% of workers have tried to learn a new skill in the last 18 months.
And 88% feel it is important to continually learn new skills for their job – with 74% willing to invest their personal time to upskill.
The STL spokesman added: “It is great to learn from the research that workers recognise the importance of upskilling.
“No matter how secure you feel in your role, something can come along – like ChatGPT – to really throw the cat among the pigeons.
“Which is why it is never a bad idea to take some time to evaluate just what skills you might need to brush up on, to offer continued value to your employer.”
