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Is AI a useful tool, a cheater’s crutch, a superpower, or the scourge of the earth? Well, according to our recent survey about AI usage at work, it’s all of those things…and more. One responder even vehemently proclaimed, “AI is absolutely awful. Burn it down.”
Benefits aside (and there ARE benefits, arsonists notwithstanding), the arrival of AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others has kicked up a massive cloud of negative emotions along with it – fear, guilt, and anxiety among them. And many of these emotions come from peer pressure, which is especially prevalent in the marketing industry. You can feel judged for using it and judged for NOT using it.
For example:
- AI champions think non-users are dinosaurs going extinct.
- AI haters view users as lazy cheaters whose brains will turn to mush.
- Some people hide their usage because they don’t want people to think they’re incapable of producing their own work.
- Some people hide their non-usage because they fear people will think they’re not on the cutting edge of technology.
So how many people really ARE using it for work? And how often?
If you believe the media hype, EVERYONE is using it for work. The topic of AI and how to use it saturates media coverage, industry conference agendas, and business-focused social media platforms like LinkedIn. It’s no wonder it feels like the world is getting judgy about AI usage. The push to use it is everywhere you turn.
Yet, we recently surveyed 419 adults to ask for their anonymous response to the question, “How often do you use an AI assistant like ChatGPT to help with your work?” And despite AI tools being readily available for more than two years, the results aren’t as one-sided as the media-hype-peer-pressure would have you believe.
So according to this survey:
- 36% of people never use it
- 19% of people use it every day
- 45% of people only use it occasionally
AND OH, THE COMMENTS! We added a box for optional comments and didn’t expect many. We were so wrong. People had a lot to say about it, all of which was quite illuminating.
From the comments (which you can read for yourself here), we learned things like:
- Cool (simple) ways to use it we hadn’t considered, like correcting formula errors in Excel that you can’t figure out.
- Many people won’t use Large Language Model (LLM) AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, and others because of their extensive drain on the environment. This is a particular concern for people and companies that have made a commitment to sustainability.
- At the moment, there seem to be more “passionate haters” than “passionate lovers.” Like the colorful commenter that said, “Don’t trust AI, it’s anti-human and generally produces slop.”
- It seems to be gaining traction as simply a helpful tool…many people use it for polishing up their own writing, getting them started with a framework for a document, and – as one responder put it – “using it as an extension of my own brain.”
That observation in the last bullet? That’s pretty much the stance of the “45% of people who use it occasionally.” They just see it as a tool…one they use when it’s needed and don’t when it isn’t.
And that’s really what it comes down to in the end.
You are not a dinosaur if you DON’T use AI.
And you are not a superhero if you DO use AI.
AI is just a tool. Tools are used for a variety of reasons, like to make things easier or to solve problems. And people adapt to using newly emergent tools at different paces. There’s no good or bad here, and no right or wrong. There are only choices and outcomes.
There are plenty of people out there leading perfectly happy lives without smartphones. Are there efficiencies and benefits they’re not taking advantage of because of that choice? Sure. Does it matter? No. Who says that doing more and faster is better? YOU may not be able to live without those efficiencies and benefits, but that’s YOUR choice.
We are still in the very early stages of LLM/AI usage by the general public, and it’s reasonable to expect that more people will come to adopt its use over time. Humans aren’t always quick to change and often resist learning how to use new tools and technology. Eventually, the new tech settles into whatever place it belongs in each of our lives, based on our own personal needs/likes/style. But initial resistance is normal.
I wasn’t around when the telephone was invented, but at the time, many people saw it as “the instrument of the devil.”
I was around, however, when the internet was invented and I fully remember having to counsel our marketing clients at the time on whether or not they should have a website. That too was a polarizing choice for people. And over the years, I saw clients cautiously come to embrace website marketing… then fully embrace it and strike all printed marketing materials from their budget. Then – whoa – realize that plenty of people out there still want/need/crave printed materials and scramble to rebuild sales lost from banishing them. And then eventually make peace with some sort of hybrid of print/digital mix.
And more examples…
E-books like Kindle didn’t replace books for every reader.
Food processers didn’t replace hand-chopping for every chef.
Task management apps didn’t replace handwritten to-do lists for every planner.
Hell, music streaming services didn’t even replace vinyl for every music lover.
And AI will never replace “writing” or “thinking.” Too many people get pleasure from brainstorming, strategic thinking, and crafting the perfect combination of words that articulate their point. Might those folks use AI as a tool for other things, or to help them occasionally with some parts of writing or thinking? You bet. But just because you use AI for SOME things doesn’t mean you have to use it for EVERYTHING.
So let’s all stop being so judgy about people’s AI usage. Use it or don’t…it’s totally up to you.
My Great Aunt Pauline – bless that woman’s wisdom – always used to say, “Things take just as long as they need to.” Which means, when it’s the right time for you to embrace AI for various things, you will. Until then, don’t stress about it.
And if you’re worried that we are all going too far into embracing automation and depersonalization (especially in hospitality), these stories from the tourism world will warm your little heart.
We’re all just suckers for homemade cake.
