Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today announced the release of its latest Technology Pulse Poll, which examines the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the future of work — from integration to talent and culture. The poll, which was conducted in March 2024 and surveyed more than 250 leaders in the technology industry, highlights the ongoing push and pull around AI in the workplace.

The poll finds that 50% of business leaders anticipate a combination of both layoffs and hiring over the next six months as a direct result of AI adoption. Yet, even with hiring plans in place, three out of five technology leaders (61%) say that emerging technology has made it more challenging for their company to source top technology talent.

"One thing is certain: Companies are reshaping their workforce to be more AI savvy. With this transition, we can anticipate a continuous cycle of strategic workforce realignment, characterized by simultaneous layoffs and hiring, and not necessarily in equal volumes," says Vamsi Duvvuri, EY Technology, Media and Telecommunications AI Leader. "But it's not all doom and gloom. Employees and companies alike continue to show enthusiasm around AI, specifically when it comes to opportunities to scale and compete more effectively in the marketplace."

According to the poll, 72% of respondents say their employees are using AI at least daily in the workplace, with top use cases being coding and software development (51%), data analysis (51%), and internal and external communication (47%). Though many leaders report concerns about AI and believe that more regulation is needed around this technology, most technology business leaders (85%) believe that emerging technology has had a positive impact on their workplace culture. 

"AI is transforming the way we work, creating new opportunities for innovation and growth, while simultaneously posing unprecedented challenges, especially when it comes to talent," says Ken Englund, EY Americas Technology, Media and Telecommunications Leader. "Our recent pulse poll demonstrates that technology companies generally have a positive sentiment toward the next productivity wave. There's a lot of excitement at these companies in terms of how they will successfully apply their own industry tools to themselves."

The EY survey also found that:

• Red flags around AI remain top of mind, especially when it comes to regulation. When thinking about AI concerns, technology business leaders say that upskilling employees (33%), copyright infringement and theft of intellectual property (IP) (33%), and a lack of transparency around decision-making (37%) are at the top of the list. Further, nearly half of technology business leaders agree that more AI regulation is needed, specifically when it comes to minimizing AI-generated bias (48%), protecting user privacy (48%) and safeguarding IP (47%).

• Despite ongoing challenges, AI investment continues to rise. Though many leaders still report concerns about AI, 82% of tech business leaders plan to increase their AI investment in the next year. From a hiring standpoint, tech leaders are focused on investing in specific roles, such as cybersecurity analysts (69%), data scientists (68%) and AI engineers (68%).

• Leaders know that AI upskilling is critical to success. Nearly two-thirds of technology business leaders (64%) say their company has put internal development programs in place to help employees keep pace with rapidly changing generative AI (GenAI). Three out of four technology business leaders (76%) say they have implemented internal technical certifications to help employees keep pace with GenAI.

Methodology

EY US commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 255 business leaders in the technology industry throughout the United States. The margin of error is +/- 6 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place between March 8 and March 16, 2024.