Roughly one in four American workers now worries that technology will make their job…
Roughly one in four American workers now worries that technology will make their job obsolete. Gallup says that is a record.
On 15 September Gallup published this year's figures. Between 3 and 24 August it asked 507 US workers, and 27% said they worry technology could soon make their job unnecessary. Last year it was 20%. When Gallup first asked, in 2017, it was 13%. That is roughly double.
Two groups stand out. Among workers under 45 it is 34%, now tied with losing benefits as their top worry. Among college graduates it has gone from 8% in 2021 to 25% this year. Fear of being replaced by technology now outranks fear of being laid off, having hours cut or having wages cut.
Three weeks ago I wrote that the US jobs figures say the AI jobs apocalypse has not arrived. Gallup says the same: the worry is running ahead of the actual job losses. Both things can be true.
I use AI agents for real work every day. Last week they drew a demonstration set of Building Regulations drawings for me, and the first version was done in one night. What I notice is that they are best at work where someone has already written the answer down: regulations, templates, standard details. What they cannot do is the part where nobody has written the answer yet: what the client actually wants, which rule wins when two of them clash, who speaks up when something goes wrong.
Three weeks ago I wrote that the US jobs figures say the AI jobs apocalypse has not arrived.
So I think the useful question is not which job is at risk. It is which part of your job is at risk. That is my view, not data.
It may also explain why younger workers worry most. The first few years of most careers are spent on exactly the part where the answer is already written down.
The caveats, plainly:
・These are US figures from 507 workers, with a margin of error of ±6 points. I have not seen the same question asked in the UK or Hong Kong.
・The question asks about "technology", not AI alone.
・Worry is not the same as job loss. Gallup says AI's overall effect on US employment is still modest, though there are signs of weaker entry-level hiring in the jobs most exposed to AI.
Gallup's report: https://news.gallup.com/poll/714368/workers-fear-losing-jobs-technology.aspx
How much of your own job is the part where the answer is already written down? Tell me what you think in the comments 👇
