More than half (55%) of American workers are at least a little scared that they will lose their job to artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey conducted as part of Finder’s quarterly Consumer Confidence Index.
But the degree to which people fear AI taking over jobs varies. At one end of the scale of fear, some are either extremely (13%) or very concerned (11%) about what AI in the workplace means for their future job security, compared to those who might be more apprehensive about the role that AI will play in the future rather than outright terrified: somewhat (18%) and slightly concerned (14%). Finally, there is a solid amount who are not concerned at all at 45%.
Men are more threatened by AI than women
Only 35% say they are not worried about AI’s impact on their jobs compared to 51% of women.
Anxiety over AI high among younger generations
Gen Z (67%) and gen Y (61%) are by far the most concerned about artificial intelligence taking over and impacting their job prospects, compared to 45% of gen X and just 27% of baby boomers.
The West is worried about what AI means for their jobs
Those living in the West are most fearful about AI and the future of work at 67%, compared to just 52% in the Midwest.
Fill-time employees have the most extreme concern
Those who are employed full-time are the most likely to report extreme concern (14%) about the rise of AI, compared to just 7% of those working part-time.
Worry begets worry
Those already worried about being laid off in the next 12 months are also concerned about artificial intelligence taking over jobs, with 77% expressing concern.
Industries most concerned about AI
The top three industries concerned about AI’s impact on jobs are agriculture (86%), marketing and communications (73%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (65%). Whereas just 40% of those working in legal services expressed any concern.
What makes these figures all the more worrying is that a combined 17% said they would only be able to live off their savings for a week or less if they lost their job tomorrow, with 11% saying they’d last under a week. And just where 22% said that they were investing their money in high-interest savings accounts.
Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index is an ongoing quarterly nationally representative survey, so far polling more than 10,000 American adults, asking questions relating to household finances. First collected October 4-19, 2022, with following iterations running between January 9 to February 17, 2023, April 11-20, 2023, July 6-18, 2023 and most recently, October 11-30, 2023.
Our data is based on an online survey of 2,033 US adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics/SAP from October 11-30, 2023, with representative quotas for gender, age and states.
We assume the 2,033 participants in our survey represent the US population of 260.9 million Americans who are at least 18 years old, according to the July 2022 US Census Bureau population estimate(6). This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.
We define generations by the age of participants at the time of the survey:
Gen Z — any adults born post-1997
Millennials — 1981–1996
Gen X — 1965-1980
Baby Boomers — anyone born pre-1964
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based senior content marketing manager & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU).
SoFi and Capital One are both good picks for different reasons. SoFi is best for everyday banking, but Capital One has more account options and branches.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser Disclosure
finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
