You may have never heard of FOBO, the fear of becoming obsolete. But younger workers and college graduates are increasingly feeling FOBO due to technology, recent Gallup data shows.
Overall, 22% of US workers say they are worried about technology making their jobs obsolete, the Sept 11 data release shows. That’s a 7% increase from 2021, marking the greatest two-year increase in this fear since Gallup began asking this question in 2017.
Meanwhile, other job concerns, such as being laid off or having hours cut back, remains more or less steady, Gallup reported.
“Developments in computers’ ability to mimic human language, recently made clear with the release of ChatGPT last November, may be changing the stereotype of what computers can do in the workplace,” Lydia Saad wrote for Gallup.
FOBO due to technology has risen among every demographic group surveyed, across education, gender, age and income level. The greatest increases have been among workers 18-34, those with college degrees, and workers whose households make under US$100,000 (RM468,400).
“It is no longer only about robots standing in for humans in warehouses and on assembly lines but has expanded to online programs conducting sophisticated language-based work, including writing computer code,” Saad wrote.
Over the course of two years, fears among those with degrees jumped 12%, while among those without degrees, it remains relatively unchanged at a 2% increase.
Now, the two groups share more similar levels of worry.
“Generative artificial intelligence like ChatGPT may have its greatest impact on jobs that were traditionally thought to be immune from automation – namely, higher-paying jobs that require a college education,” Eugenie Park and Risa Gelles-Watnick wrote in an article for Pew Research Center.
A Pew report showed that over half of participants surveyed said they were more worried about AI in daily life than they were excited about it, according to a poll conducted in early August.
Although fear of technology taking jobs has grown, workers are still more preoccupied with other concerns, such as scaled-back benefits or reduced wages, according to Gallup’s report.
As artificial intelligence is predicted to become more embedded in the American workforce, other reports say the AI revolution is not strictly a job-taking shift.
“We see generative AI enhancing the way STEM, creative, and business and legal professionals work rather than eliminating a significant number of jobs outright,” researchers with the McKinsey Global Institute said in a July 2023 report. “Automation’s biggest effects are likely to hit other job categories. Office support, customer service, and food service employment could continue to decline.”
The rise of Open AI’s ChatGPT technology has stoked anxieties about AI taking over jobs, but overall FOBO remains low, according to Gallup.
“Amid such change, it’s understandable that US workers, particularly those with college degrees, are more worried about what technology could mean for their careers,” Saad wrote. “Nevertheless, for now, fewer than one in four think the threat is imminent.” – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service
