Survey: Half of the CEOs believe AI can replace their jobs

Faced with the onslaught of artificial intelligence (AI), not only ordinary workers are worried about having their jobs robbed, but even CEOs at the top of company management will also be affected. However, they don't seem too worried about it.

According to a survey by online education platform edX, nearly half (49%) of chief executive officers (CEOs) said that artificial intelligence can effectively replace "most" or even "all" of their jobs, although 47% of CEOs believe that this is probably a good thing.

The survey, released Tuesday, surveyed 1,600 full-time U.S. employees, including 800 executives and CEOs, and 800 rank-and-file employees.

edX founder Anant Agarwal said this represented "a very enlightened view." Agarwal is the founder of edx. He previously served as CEO at edx and now serves as the chief platform officer of edX parent company 2U.

“It’s clear that most (executives) believe AI will be transformative,” he said, noting that people believe AI is even more important than the internet.

Taking himself as an example, Agarwal said that during his tenure as edX CEO, he spent nearly 80% of his time on "mundane" tasks, such as "making reports and repeating presentations, or using different ways to A lot of people say the same thing”.

Artificial intelligence can replace many similar mechanical tasks. Some experts point out that artificial intelligence can also take on some of the other responsibilities of a CEO, such as analyzing market data and brainstorming ideas to improve business operations.

However, Agarwal noted that it will be harder for AI to replicate many of the "soft skills" that define a good CEO, such as "critical thinking, vision, creativity, teamwork, collaboration, motivating others, being able to listen and observe."

This means that the status quo of humans as corporate executives will almost certainly continue, but their job content may soon become completely different: delegating mundane tasks to focus on those things that AI cannot do.

How much impact will AI have on ordinary employees?

The edX survey also revealed that executives said that by 2025, 49% of their current workforce’s skills will no longer be applicable, and 47% of employees will not be prepared for the jobs of the future.

However, rank-and-file workers surveyed had a different view: Only 20% said they believed AI could replace “most” or “all” of their jobs.

But executives noted that they are already trying to hire new employees with AI skills, with 87% saying they currently have difficulty finding such workers.

The survey also showed that only 24% of employees are learning new AI skills from their current job, and 39% said they may quit their jobs in the next year to find a job with more AI learning opportunities. 62% of Gen Z respondents said they are learning new AI skills to stay ahead of their colleagues.