A new global survey has found that one in three SMEs believe AI has the potential to positively transform the workplace, while one in 10 believe it will be highly detrimental.
The survey of 79,000 businesses across five countries – Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK – was conducted by the Peninsula Group, a global HR, employment law and health & safety advisory and consultancy firm – to look at the opportunities and concerns employers have around the use of AI in the workplace. This is the second year the survey has been run.
Use of AI remains low across small and medium businesses; despite a 50% year-on-year increase, only one in 10 SMEs say they are regularly using AI in their workplace.
Australian and New Zealand employers are the most likely to use AI regularly, while Irish employers are the least likely.
As the use of AI increases, so do concerns around the risks posed by it. Almost half of those surveyed report concerns about the security risks posed by AI, a 60% year-on-year increase.
Almost half of employers (47%) surveyed cite security risk as their biggest concern around AI in the workplace, up from 30% this time last year.
Significant year-on-year increases were also seen in concerns around reputational impact (+183%), risk of breaking the law (+183%), loss of intellectual property (+178%) and impact on work quality and productivity (+158%) since 2023.
Meanwhile there has been a 6% decrease in the number of businesses believing that AI has the potential to transform many workplaces, alongside a 19% increase in the number saying AI is useful but won’t overtake traditional ways of working. The survey also found a 21% increase in the number of employers saying they were fearful of the unknown when it comes to AI.
Where businesses have incorporated AI into the business, the majority are using it for administrative tasks or creative writing.
Other key findings include:
- One in four UK SMEs concerned about the risk of losing intellectual property (IP) posed by AI, compared to one in 20 this time last year
- Less than 50% of small businesses say that people are irreplaceable in their business
- One in four SMEs say AI will probably reduce the number of people employed by their company at some point
- For the second year running, Canadians are the most cautious, with only 23% of employers believing AI has the power to positively transform the workplace. Fifty-three percent are either fearful of the unknown, unsure about negative elements or believe that AI will be highly detrimental to the workplace
- Australian employers are twice as concerned about loss of intellectual property than Irish and UK employers and three times more concerned than Canadian employers
- Forty percent of UK SMEs worry about the margin of error AI brings, up from 14% this time last year
- One in five UK small businesses who use AI say it has had a positive impact