BrazilOver a third of workers and students in UAE using generative AI
Around 39% of workers and students in the UAE are reportedly using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard, or Synthesia without the awareness of employers or teachers, according to a new study.
The research, carried out by global management consultancy Oliver Wyman, found that the percentage of generative AI usage in the UAE was about on par with the averages in other countries. It found that 45% of those in manufacturing were using the tools covertly, compared with 38% in tech, and 33% in financial services.
Generative AI technologies have the potential to speed up or totally automate many time-consuming processes. For that reason, it is clear why usage of these tools have been spreading so rapidly in the past few years.
“The workforce of the future will be hugely, and in many ways positively, impacted by generative AI technology. That’s no longer up for debate,” said Jad Haddad, Head of Oliver Wyman’s Digital practice in the Middle East.
“However, the rate of adoption, and therefore transformation, will vary widely by industry and company, and that will depend greatly on policies, actions, and general openness,” he continued.
While the benefits of AI technology are clear, the risks are also something to be taken seriously and organizations should not be ignoring what is clearly happening under their noses. The more covert use of generative AI spreads, the higher the risk for cybersecurity threats, says Haddad.
“All GCC organizations need to be thinking seriously and boldly about early generative AI adoption policies now – it’s not something that we can just ignore,” he stated.
While workers in some regions expressed fear that their jobs may be automated as more advanced generative AI tools become more capable of automating processes now carried out by humans, workers in the Middle East are less worried. A previous study showed that only around a quarter of surveyed workers in the region are worried about what AI means for their jobs, as compared with 40% in some parts of Europe.
