2023-11-22 15:24:31
Many observers harbor the hope that generative artificial intelligence will enable significant productivity gains. Two newly published studies support this theory and even affirm that these technologies might contribute to the generalization of the four-day work week.
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These articles were published by Autonomyand think tank which is dedicated to tackling climate change, the future of work and economic planning. They analyze the effects of the use of AI on the British and American workforce.
We learn that this technology might allow 28% of workers in the United Kingdom to see their working week increase from 40 to 32 hours by 2033. They might therefore easily complete the professional tasks incumbent on them in four days, at least instead of five. And this, while maintaining the same salary.
To believe Autonomy, 35 million American workers will be able to benefit from the same phenomenon. The organization estimates that 28% of the United States’ payroll might move to a four-day week within ten years.
Furthermore, 71% of American workers might see their working hours reduced by at least 10% if they used large language models (LLM) [programmes capables de générer des réponses automatiques à des questions formulées par écrit] in their daily professional life. A percentage which rises to 88% in the United Kingdom.
These productivity gains can be explained by the fact that generative AI tools will automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which would allow employees to devote themselves to missions with higher added value. But also to their lives outside the office.
Creativity at half mast
Indeed, Autonomy believes that the deployment of LLMs in companies might contribute to “avoiding mass unemployment (and all its social and political effects), reducing widespread mental illnesses [dans le monde du travail] as well as the physical problems associated with overwork and create much more free time for democracy, leisure activities and social cohesion in general.
However, the conclusions of these studies should be taken with caution. Experts remain divided on the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market.
Research teams from Harvard Business School, MIT, Wharton, Warwick and the BCG Henderson Institute found, following conducting a scientific experiment with 750 employees, that the new generation of AI only improves their performance in so-called “creative” tasks (writing emails, summarizing documents, researching names for a product/service, etc.).
However, these tools do not help them solve complex problems. Worse still, they would tend to drastically reduce their creativity and standardize their productions.
“Because ChatGPT-4 provides answers that are very similar in content, repeatedly, to the same types of questions, the results provided by participants who used this technology were individually better, but collectively repetitive,” note the researchers. in their study.
Companies will therefore have to carry out real reflection to take advantage of the advantages of artificial intelligence, without restricting the creative capacity of their teams. The challenge is to ensure that the human-machine relationship is one of collaboration and not dependence.
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