6.1 Percent Indians Are Optimistic About Generative AI Tools: Survey

From ChatGPT to Dall-E and all the technologies in between, the new wave of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is transforming businesses at a rapid pace, and 60 percent of Indian executives are optimistic about its impact on workplace, as per a survey.

However, opinions vary by seniority and by country, according to the survey by Boston Consulting Group.

The survey is based on inputs from 12,800 employees from the executive suites to the frontline employees across industries in 18 countries.

As per the survey, Brazil (71 percent) is the most optimistic country about the impact of GenAI on workplace followed by India (60 percent) and the Middle East (58 percent).

The least optimistic are the US (46 percent), the Netherlands (44 percent) and Japan (40 percent).

Geographies most concerned about AI are the Netherlands (42 percent), France (41 percent), and Japan (38 percent), while the least concerned are the Middle East (25 percent), Brazil (19 percent), and India (14 percent), As much as 61 percent of the 1,000 respondents in India are optimistic about the tool while 72.8 percent of them believe the rewards of GenAI outweigh risks.

Also, close to 88 percent of respondents believe their job is likely to be transformed by AI and 80 percent feel AI-specific regulations are necessary.

GenAI is a rapidly evolving space, and its transformative impact is already being felt in workplaces around the world, says Nicolas De Bellefonds, the global leader of AI and software at BCG X, BCG's tech build and design unit.

As per the survey, 52 percent of respondents are optimistic about AI's impact on work, which was 35 percent in 2018.

According to Nipun Kalra, managing director & partner, and head of BCG X in India, among the 18 countries surveyed, Indian executives are the most optimistic about the transformative impact of AI.

The survey also showed that senior leaders are more frequent users of generative AI, and thus are more optimistic and less concerned about it than frontline employees. While 62 per cent of leaders are optimistic about AI, only 42 percent of frontline employees share that view.

Also, 62 percent of regular users of GenAI are optimistic about it, compared to 36 percent of non-users. A majority of leaders (80 percent) report that they use GenAI tools regularly, compared with just 20 percent of frontline employees.

Further, frontline employees made up the largest percentage of non-users (60 percent).

Globally, more than a third of the respondents (36 percent) think that their job is likely to be eliminated by AI and 86 percent believe they will need skilling.