ArtificialIntelligenceatWork:The

ShiftingLandscapeofFutureSkillsandtheFutureofWork

InsightsfromtheSurveyofEmploymentandSkills

TheDiversityInstituteconductsandcoordinatesmulti-disciplinary,multi-stakeholderresearch

toaddresstheneedsofdiverseCanadians,thechangingnatureofskillsandcompetenciesand

thepolicies,processesandtoolsthatadvanceeconomicinclusionandsuccess.Ouraction-

oriented,evidence-basedapproachisadvancingknowledgeofthecomplexbarriersfacedby

underrepresentedgroups,leadingpracticestoeffectchangeandproducingconcreteresults.TheDiversityInstituteisaresearchleadfortheFutureSkillsCentre.

TheFutureSkillsCentre(FSC)isaforward-thinkingcentreforresearchandcollaboration

dedicatedtodrivinginnovationinskillsdevelopmentsothateveryoneinCanadacanbe

preparedforthefutureofwork.Wepartnerwithpolicymakers,researchers,practitioners,

employersandlabourandpost-secondaryinstitutionstosolvepressinglabourmarket

challengesandensurethateveryonecanbenefitfromrelevantlifelonglearningopportunities.WearefoundedbyaconsortiumwhosemembersareTorontoMetropolitanUniversity,

BlueprintandTheConferenceBoardofCanadaandarefundedbytheGovernmentofCanada’sFutureSkillsprogram.

EnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearchconductsrelevantandoriginalpublicopinionandsocialresearchrelatedtoissuesofpublicpolicyandsocialchange.Itisthroughsuchresearchthat

organizationsandindividualscanbetterunderstandCanadatoday,howithasbeenchangingandwhereitmaybeheading.

ArtificialIntelligenceatWork:TheShiftingLandscapeofFutureSkillsandtheFutureofWorkisfundedbytheGovernmentofCanada’s

FutureSkillsProgram.

Theopinionsandinterpretationsinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthoranddonotnecessarilyreflectthoseofthe

GovernmentofCanada.

Authors

Dr.WendyCukier

Founderandacademicdirector,DiversityInstitute,TedRogersSchoolofManagementProfessor,entrepreneurship&strategy,TorontoMetropolitanUniversity

Dr.AlyssaSaiphoo

Seniorresearchassociate,DiversityInstitute

Dr.AndrewParkin

Executivedirector,EnvironicsInstituteforSurveyResearch

Contributors

Dr.GuangYingMo

Directorofresearch,DiversityInstitute

CarterMan

Researchassistant,DiversityInstitute

PublicationDate

October2024

AbouttheSurveyon

EmploymentandSkills

TheSurveyonEmploymentandSkillsisconductedbytheEnvironicsInstituteforSurvey

Research,inpartnershipwiththeFutureSkillsCentreandtheDiversityInstituteatToronto

MetropolitanUniversity.Inearly2020,theSurveyonEmploymentandSkillsbeganasaprojectdesignedtoexploreCanadians’experienceswiththechangingnatureofwork,including

technology-drivendisruptions,increasinginsecurityandshiftingskillsrequirements.FollowingtheonsetoftheCOVID-19pandemic,thesurveywasexpandedtoinvestigatetheimpactofthecrisisonCanadians’employment,earningsandworkenvironments.Asecondwaveofthe

surveywasconductedinDecember2020,athirdwaveinJune2021,afourthwaveinMarch–April2022,afifthwaveinMarch2023andasixthwaveinOctober–November2023.Eachwaveofthestudyconsistsofasurveyofover5,000Canadiansaged18yearsandover,conductedinallprovincesandterritories.Atotalof34,740Canadiansweresurveyedacrossthesixwaves.

ThesurveyincludesoversamplesofCanadianslivinginsmallerprovincesandterritories,thoseundertheageof34years,racializedCanadiansandCanadianswhoidentifyasIndigenous,inordertoprovideabetterportraitoftherangeofexperiencesacrossthecountry.Unless

otherwiseindicated,thesurveyresultsinthisreportareweightedbyage,gender,region,

education,racialidentityandIndigenousidentitytoensurethattheyarerepresentativeoftheCanadianpopulationasawhole.

Surveyreportscanbefoundonlineat:

/projects/listing/-in-tags/type/survey-on-employment-and-skill

s

fsc-ccf.ca/research/2020-survey-on-employment-and-skills/

www.torontomu.ca/diversity/research/future-skills/survey-on-employment-and-skills/

i

Contents

ExecutiveSummaryii

Context1

Methods3

Results6

DiscussionandConclusion17

References21

ii

ExecutiveSummary

Introduction

Canadaisaleadingtalenthubforartificialintelligence(AI).Despitethis,Canadaisfalling

behindgloballyinAIadoption.BarrierstoAIadoptionthatCanadianexperienceincludealackofawarenessofAItoolsthatcanbeusedintheworkplace,aswellasethicalandprivacy

concernswithintegratingAIintooperations.However,thetopbarriertoAIadoptionnotedbyCanadianbusinessesisadifficultyinfindingemployeeswiththenecessaryskillsandexpertisetosupporttheintegrationofthistechnologyintooperations.However,ifthedatashowsthatthereareplentyofAIprofessionalsinCanadareadytowork,whyareemployersexperiencingthisdifficulty?

ResearchDesign

IntheseventhwaveoftheSurveyonEmploymentandSkills,conductedbytheEnvironics

InstituteinpartnershipwiththeDiversityInstituteatTorontoMetropolitanUniversityandtheFutureSkillsCentre,thisdisconnectwasfurtherinvestigated.Thesurveywasfirstadministeredin2020andasoftheseventhwavein2024,nowhasover40,000participants.Inthemost

recentwaveofthesurvey,questionsaboutfamiliarity,use,perceptionsandtrainingonAIwereaddedtoinvestigateCanadians’perceptionsofthisemergingtechnology.

Findings

SurveyfindingsshowedthatmostrespondentsaresomewhatfamiliarwithAItoolstousein

theworkplace.JustoverathirdofthosewhowereemployedindicatedthattheyhaveusedAIatworktohelpwithtaskswithpositiveeffects;themajorityreportedthatusingAIhadmadethemmoreproductiveandmorecreativeatwork.Despitethis,thosewhowerethemost

familiarwithAItoolsintheworkplacewerethosewhowerethemostworriedabouttheirjobsbecomingautomated.

Perceptionsofnewtechnologiesweremainlymixedorpositive,withtheexceptionoftrainingatwork:justoverhalfofrespondentsfeltthattheiremployerwasnotprovidingenough

traininginnewtechnologies.Consistentwiththis,mostrespondentswhohadusedAIatworkindicatedthattheyhaddonesolargelywithoutanytrainingorformalguidancefromtheir

employer.Instead,employeesaretakingituponthemselvestolearnhowtousethesetools,eitherlearningonthegowhileusingthetechnologyorseekingoutandengagingintrainingthemselvesandgoverninguseofthesetoolsontheirown.

Groupdifferenceswerealsoidentified.Youngeragegroups,men,Indigenous,racializedandimmigrantrespondentsweremorelikelythantheircounterpartstobefamiliarandhave

receivedtrainingonAItoolsintheworkplace.

iii

ConclusionsandImplications

TheresultsfromthiswaveofthesurveyhighlighttheurgencyforemployerstocreatepoliciesandimplementtrainingonusingAItoolsintheworkplace.Employeesarealreadyusingthesetools,withorwithoutguidelinesfromemployersandthisislikelytoincreaseasAItools

becomemorewidespread.Ifemployersdonotputpoliciesintoplaceandprovidetrainingsoonenough,adoptionofAIintobusinessoperationsdownthelinewillbemoredifficultif

employeesalreadyhavetheirowninformalrulesaboutthis.Therelationshipbetween

familiarityandworryaboutautomationsuggestsaneedforAIliteracy.DatasuggeststhatAIadoptionisassociatedwithjobcreationratherthanjobloss,butalackofunderstandingandfearmongeringinthemediaaboutthesetoolsmightcontributetothisworry.IncreasingAI

literacyinthegeneralpopulationcouldgoalongwaytoreducingskepticismaboutthese

technologiesandincreasingAIadoption.Theseresultsalsohighlightanimportantshifttoself-guidedtraining.Employeesaretakingituponthemselvestokeepupwiththesenew

technologiesandarenotwaitingfortheiremployertooffertrainingorguidance.Overall,

employersneedtocatchuptoemployeesandexpandthetalentpoolifCanadaistokeepitsleadintheglobalAIrace.

1

Context

Canadaispositionedtobecomeagloballeaderinartificialintelligence(AI).Already,CanadaisaleaderinAItalent,withover140,000AIprofessionalsin2023;thisisa29%increasefrom

2022.1CanadaalsoleadsingenderdiversityinAI.Withinmosttechnologyfields,thereisa

knowngendergapwhenitcomestoemploymentandwages.However,Canadasawa67%

growthinthenumberofwomeninAIfrom2022to2023—thelargestyear-over-yeargrowthseenworldwide.2

SeveralCanadiancompaniesareadoptingAIintheiroperations.DriversofAIadoptionby

Canadianbusinessesincludemakingoperationsmoreaccessibleandreducingoperatingcosts.3AreportbyIBMshowedthatAIadoptionisbeingseenmainlyinlargerorganizations,4and

mostlyininformationandculturalindustries.5ThespecificAIapplicationsusedbyCanadianbusinessesvariesacrossindustries.Naturallanguageprocessingismostcommonlyusedin

informationandculturalindustries,imageandpatternrecognitionisusedmostcommonlyinprofessional,scientificandtechnicalindustriesandvirtualagentsorchatbotsaremost

commonlyusedbythefinanceandinsuranceindustry.

AIadoptionismostcommonlyseeninmarketing,salesandbusinessadministrationprocesses.However,itsapplicationvariessignificantlyacrossindustries.Ingoods-producingsectors,AIisprimarilyusedforproductionandICTsecurity,whereasinservice-basedindustries,itsusein

productionisminimal.Instead,theseindustriesfocusonusingAIforICTsecurity,sales,

businessadministrationandenterprisesolutions.6,7TheadoptionofAItoolsintobusiness

operationsrequireschangeswithinthebusinesstoaccommodatethenewtechnology.WhenbusinessesthatusedAIintheproductionofgoodsordeliveryofserviceswereaskedabouttheadjustmentsmadeduringimplementation,themostcommonchangesincludedretraining

existingstafftouseAItools(39%),developingnewworkflows(35%),andmodifyingdatacollectionormanagementpractices(21%).8

DespiteleadinginAItalent,CanadalagsbehindothercountriesintermsofAIadoption.A

surveybyKPMGshowedthat35%ofCanadianbusinessesareusingAIintheiroperations.

Whilethisisoverone-thirdofbusinessessurveyed,thisnumberpalesincomparisontoAI

adoptionintheU.S.,wherenearlythree-quartersofbusinessessurveyed(72%)areusingAI

withintheiroperations.9Similarly,whilealmosttwo-thirdsofU.S.companies(65%)saytheyareusingthegenerativeAIplatformChatGPTtoimproveoperations,onlyaboutone-third(37%)ofCanadianbusinessessaytheyarelookingintothis.10CanadaisnotonlybehindinAIadoption

withinNorthAmerica,butalsoglobally.Globally,Canadafallsfarbehindleadingcountries,withlessthan4%(3.7%)offirmsindicatingthattheyhaveadoptedAIintotheiroperations.Thisis

muchlowerthanothercountriesthathaveAIadoptionratesmorethandoublethoseofCanada’s,withDenmarkhavingthehighestat24%.11

2

WhatbarrierstoAIadoptionareCanadianbusinessesexperiencing?DespiteCanadaleading

globallyinAItalent,thetopbarriercitedbyCanadiancompaniestoAIadoptionisdifficulty

findingemployeeswithAIexpertise.Aboutoneinfive(21%)oforganizationssurveyedsaid

theydonotcurrentlyhaveemployeeswiththeadequateskillstouseAItoolstheyplanto

integrateandjustunderoneinfive(17%)cannotfindnewemployeestofillupthisgap.12TwoinfiveCanadianorganizations(41%)inonesurveysaidthatlimitedAIskillsandexpertisewasthetopbarriertoAIadoption.13Overone-half(54%)ofCanadianbusinessesinanothersurveysaidtheyareconcernedabouttheaccuracyoftheAIalgorithmstheyareusingandthattheymightbemakingdecisionsbasedonpoorlydesignedalgorithms.However,justunderone-half(47%)inthesamesurveysaidtheylacktheexpertiseamongtheirworkforcetovalidateand

verifythealgorithmstheyhaveinplace.14

LackofawarenessoftheAItoolsthatareavailableisalsoabarrieroftencitedtoadoption.ThismaymakeidentifyingthebusinesscaseforAIachallenge;infact,nearlythree-quarters(69%)ofCanadianbusinessessaytheystruggletoidentifythebusinessbaseforAI.15AnotherbarriertoadoptioncitedbyCanadianbusinessesisethicalconcernsandtrustofAItools.16AItoolsareoftenassociatedwitha“blackbox,”meaningthatevenifpeopleareexperiencedusersthey

mightnotunderstandhowthesetoolswork“behindthescenes.”17Theuncertaintyaboutjustexactlyhowthesetoolsworkcanleadtoskepticismandalackoftrustinthesetools.Infact,

CanadahasoneofthelowestlevelsoftrustinAItechnology.18Thisalsohighlightstheneedforgovernancepoliciesforusingthesetoolsintheworkplace.

Here,weseeadisconnect.Ononehand,thedatashowsthatCanadaisleadinginAIexpertise.WehaveahighlyskilledworkforcethatisreadytomeettheincreasingdemandforAIskillsasAIadoptionincreases.Ontheotherhand,CanadianbusinessessaytheyarestrugglingtofindworkerswiththeAIskillstheyneed.Whatisthecauseofthisdisconnect?InthemostrecentwaveofourSurveyonEmploymentandSkills,conductedinpartnershipwiththeEnvironics

InstituteandfundedbytheFutureSkillsCentre,wehopedtofurtherunderstandthisdisconnectanddeterminehowtobridgethisgap.

3

Methods

TobridgethegapbetweenemployersandemployeesinregardtoAIadoptionandskills,we

mustfirstgraspabetterunderstandingofthisgapandthesourceofit.Assuch,thepurposeoftheanalysiscoveredinthisreportwastofurtherinvestigatethefollowingresearchquestions:

1.HowoftenareCanadiansusingAIintheworkplace?

2.HowfamiliarareCanadianswithAItoolsthatcanbeusedintheworkplace?Arethereanygroupdifferencesinfamiliarity?

3.HowdoesfamiliarityrelatetoperceptionsofAIintheworkplace?

4.HowmuchtrainingandguidancedoemployeesreceivefromtheiremployeronhowtouseAIintheworkplace?

Toanswerthesequestions,weusedatafromtheSurveyonEmploymentandSkills,a

collaborationbetweentheEnvironicsInstitute,theDiversityInstituteatTorontoMetropolitanUniversityandtheFutureSkillsCentre.Thesurveybeganinearly2020asaprojectdesignedtoexploreCanadians’experienceswiththechangingnatureofwork,includingtechnology-drivendisruptions,increasinginsecurityandshiftingskillsrequirements.Followingtheonsetofthe

COVID-19pandemic,thesurveywasexpandedtoinvestigatetheimpactofthecrisison

Canadians’employment,earningsandworkenvironments.Asecondwaveofthesurveywas

conductedinDecember2020,athirdwaveinJune2021,afourthwaveinMarchtoApril2022,afifthwaveinMarch2023,asixthwaveinOctobertoNovember2023andaseventhwaveinMaytoJuly2024.

Eachwaveofthestudyconsistsofasurveyofmorethan5,000Canadiansaged18andover,

conductedinallprovincesandterritories.Atotalof40,595Canadianshasbeensurveyedacrossthesevenwaves.ThesurveyincludesoversamplesofCanadianslivinginsmallerprovincesandterritories,thoseundertheageof34,racializedCanadiansandCanadianswhoidentifyas

Indigenous,toprovideabetterportraitoftherangeofexperiencesacrossthecountry.

Datapresentedinthisreportisbasedontheseventhandmostrecentwaveofthesurvey

(n=5,855).GiventheincreasinginterestinAI,thiswaveincludedseveralquestionsabout

perceptionsofAIintheworkplace,theuseofAIintheworkplace,andtrainingandguidancereceivedonusingAIintheworkplace.SpecificquestionsaddedforthiswavecanbefoundinTable1.

4

Table1.Questionsaboutperceptions,usageandtrainingonAIintheworkplaceaddedtoWave7

Question

Options

Askedto

Howfamiliarwouldyousayyouarewith

artificialintelligenceprogramsthatpeoplecanuseintheworkplace?

NotatallfamiliarNotveryfamiliarSomewhatfamiliarVeryfamiliar

Entiresample

Haveyoueverusedanyoftheseartificial

intelligenceprogramsforanyofthefollowing?

Foryourownpersonaluseorenjoyment

Entiresample

Tohelpwithassignmentsatschool,collegeor

university

Studentsonly

Tohelpwithtasksatwork

Thosewhowereemployed

Whichspecificartificialintelligenceprogramorprogramsdidyouuse?

Open-ended

Tothosewho

saidtheyusedAIatwork

Pleasethinkabouttheimpactthatusingan

artificialintelligenceprogramhashadonthewayyoudoyourjob.Wouldyousaythatithasmadeyou:

Alotless

productive/creative

Alittleless

productive/creative

Neithermorenorlessproductive/creative

Alittlemore

productive/creative

Muchmore

productive/creative

Tothosewho

saidtheyusedAIatwork

5

Question

Options

Askedto

Didyoureceiveanytrainingtohelpyoulearnhowtouseartificialintelligenceprogramsatwork?

Yes,andthistrainingwasprovidedbymyemployer

Yes,butthistrainingwasnotprovidedbymy

employer

No,Ididnotreceiveanyofthiskindoftraining

Tothosewho

saidtheyusedAIatwork

Moregenerally,howmuchguidancehasyouremployergivenyouaboutusingartificial

intelligenceprogramsatwork?

Alotofguidance–my

employerhaswritten

guidelinesaboutusingAIprogramsatwork

Someguidance–my

employerhastalkedtomeaboutusingAI

programsatwork

Notmuchguidance–IamfiguringouthowtouseAIprogramsatworkonmyown

Tothosewho

saidtheyusedAIatwork

6

Question

Options

Askedto

Doyoustronglyagree,somewhatagree,

somewhatdisagreeorstronglydisagreewitheachofthefollowingstatementsabouttheimpactofnewinformationorcomputer

technologiesonyourjob:

Myworkplacehasbeentooslowtoadapttotheopportunitiesofferedbynewinformationorcomputertechnologies.

Ifindithardtokeepupwiththechangesatworkthathavebeencausedbynew

informationorcomputertechnologies.

IworrythatImightlosemyjobinthecomingyearsbecausetheworkIdowillsoonbe

automated(inotherwords,itwillsoonbedonebycomputersorrobots).

Ihaven’treceivedenoughtrainingatworkenablemetotakeadvantageofthe

opportunitiesofferedbynewinformationorcomputertechnologies.

Stronglydisagree

SomewhatdisagreeSomewhatagree

Stronglyagree

Tothosewho

saidtheyusedAIatwork

Results

AItoolsarebeingusedintheworkplaceinbeneficialways

AllsurveyrespondentsinWave7wereaskediftheyhaveusedAIfortheirownpersonaluseorenjoyment.Justunderone-half(48%)ofrespondentsindicatedthattheyhaveusedAIforthispurpose(seeFigure1).ResultsalsoshowthatstudentsaremorelikelytouseAIatschoolthanemployeesaretouseAIatwork;60%ofstudentssurveyedindicatedthattheyhaveusedAIatschool,whileonly34%ofthosewhowereemployedsaidtheyhaveusedAIatworktohelp

withtasks(seeFigure1).ForthosewhouseAIatwork,theimpactispositive:mostsayithasmadethemmoreproductive(81%)andmorecreative(71%).

7

Figure1.Useofartificialintelligencebyrespondents

MostrespondentsaresomewhatfamiliarwithAItools

Nearly3in5surveyrespondents(57%)saytheyarefamiliar(veryandsomewhatcombined)

withAIprogramstouseintheworkplace.Ofthis,most—abouttwoinfive(40%)—areonly

somewhatfamiliarwithAItoolsthatcanbeusedintheworkplace.Thisleavesjustunderoneinfive(18%)whoarehighlyconfidentintheirfamiliaritywithAItoolstouseintheworkplace(seeFigure2).ThissuggeststhatthereisstillworktobedonetoimproveconfidenceinusingAI

toolsatwork.

Figure2.Familiaritywithartificialintelligenceintheworkplace

8

Perceptionsofnewtechnologiesintheworkplace

AsseeninTable2,overallperceptionsofAIintheworkplacearemainlymixedorpositive.

Perceptionsofthespeedatwhichtheirworkplaceisadaptingtonewtechnologiesismixed

with51%agreeingthattheirworkplaceistooslowintheiradaptation.Ontheotherhand,mostrespondentsarenotfindingitdifficulttokeepupwithchangesatworkcausedbynew

technologies(61%)andmost(61%)arenotworriedaboutautomation.Perceptionsabouttrainingprovidedbytheiremployerareslightlynegative,with53%ofrespondentsagreeingthattheyhaven’treceivedenoughtrainingonnewtechnologiesintheworkplace.

Table2alsoshowsthebreakdownofperceptionsbyeducationlevel.Here,wecanseeaslightrelationshipbetweeneducationlevelandworryaboutautomation:aseducationalattainmentincreases,thegapbetweenthosewhoareandarenotworriedincreases.Thosewithlessthanahighschooleducationaremixedonthesubject,with49%indicatingthattheyareworried

abouttheirrolebecomingautomated.However,thisdecreasesasyoumoveuptothosewithacollegedegree,ofwhichonly32%areworriedaboutautomationandthosewithabachelor’s

degree,ofwhichonly35%areworriedaboutautomation.Thistrendsuggeststhatrespondentsmaybelievethatfurthereducationmayprotecttheirjobsagainstautomation.

Table2.Perceptionsofnewtechnologiesintheworkplace;overallandbyeducational

attainment

<High

school

(%)

High

College

(%)

Overall

(%)

Bach.

(%)

Trades

(%)

school

(%)

516051434653

Grad.

Degree

(%)

Myworkplacehasbeenslowto

adapttonewtechnologies

Agree

53

Disagree

50

41

49

57

55

47

47

It'shardtokeepupwithchangesatworkcausedbynewtechnologies

Agree

39

41

44

40

31

37

43

Disagree

61

59

56

60

69

63

57

I'mworriedaboutmyjobbecomingautomated

Agree

39

49

46

36

32

35

39

Disagree

61

51

55

65

68

66

61

Ihaven'treceivedenoughtrainingonnew

technologies

Agree

53

60

55

43

49

55

54

Disagree

47

40

46

57

51

45

46

*Boldindicatesahigherproportionbetweenagreeanddisagree

9

Familiaritywithartificialintelligenceandperceptionsofnewtechnologies

Toinvestigatetherelationshipbetweenperceptionsofnewtechnologiesandfamiliaritywith

AI,welookedatthedistributionbetweenthetwovariables.Wesawaslighttrendbetweenthetwo,wherethosewhoweremostfamiliarwithAIintheworkplacealsoheldthemostnegativeperceptionsofnewtechnologies:theyweremostlikelytostronglyagreethattheirworkplacewasslowtoadapttonewtechnologies,theyfoundithardtokeepupwithchangesatworkduetonewtechnologiesanddidnotfeelthattheywerereceivingenoughtrainingonnew

technologies.MostinterestingwastherelationshipbetweenfamiliaritywithAIandworryaboutautomation,wherethemorefamiliarrespondentsindicatedtheywere,themoreworriedtheywereabouttheirjobbecomingautomated.(Table3).

Nearlyhalf(48%)ofthosewerethemostworriedabouttheirjobbecomingautomatedwerethosewhosaidtheyveryfamiliarwithAIintheworkplace,whilejustoverhalfofthosewhoweretheleastworriedaboutautomation(i.e.,stronglydisagreed)werenotvery(26%)ornotatallfamiliar(25%)withAIintheworkplace.

Table3.RelationshipbetweenworryaboutautomationandfamiliaritywithAIasa

proportionofthosewhoareworriedaboutautomationtovaryingdegrees

Worriedaboutautomation

Strongly

agree

Somewhat

agree

Somewhat

disagree

Strongly

disagree

Familiaritywith

AI

Veryfamiliar

48%

21%

14%

14%

Somewhat

familiar

31%

53%

47%

36%

Notvery

familiar

12%

18%

25%

26%

Notatall

familiar

9%

8%

13%

24%

Artificialintelligencetrainingandguidancefromemployers

OfthosewhouseAIatwork,justunderone-half(48%)havenotreceivedanykindoftraininginAI.Theremaining52%whohavereceivedtrainingareroughlysplitonwhetherornotthe

trainingwasorwasnotprovidedbytheiremployer.Slightlymore(28%)hadtrainingthatwasprovidedbytheiremployer(seeFigure3).Overall,theseresultsshowthatalmostthree

quarters(72%)ofthosewhousedAIatworkaredoingsoontheirown—whetherthatmeanstheyarelearningtousethetoolswithoutanytraining(48%)ortheyareusingthetoolswithself-guidedtraining(24%).

10

Figure3.Trainingreceivedonartificialintelligencebythosewhohaveuseditatwork

OfthosewhosaytheyhaveusedAItoolsatwork,justover2in5(42%)aredoingsowithoutanyguidancefromtheiremployer.Theremaining3in5havereceivedguidancetosome

extent;27%haveformal,writtenguidelinesabouttheuseofAIatworkand32%havehadconversationsaboutusingAIatworkbutnoformalguidelinesareinplace(seeFigure4).

Figure4.Employerguidancereceivedforthosewhohaveusedartificialintelligence

toolsatwork

11

GroupDifferences

TofurtherunderstandperceptionsofAIintheworkplaceandthedisconnectbetween

employeesandemployers,weinvestigatedgroupdifferencesinresponsesforallAI-relatedsurveyquestionsforWave7.

Age

Forfamiliarity,thereisaconsistenttrendwherelikelihoodoffamiliaritywithAItoolsintheworkplacedecreaseswithage(seeFigure5).AItoolsareslowlybutsurelybeingintegratedinsecondaryandpost-secondaryeducationinCanada.Assuch,youngeragegroupsaremore

likelytohavehadsomeexperiencewithAItoolsassoonastheycomeoutofsecondaryeducation,whileolderagegroupsareunlikelytohavehadthisexperience.

Figure5.Familiaritywithartificialintelligencetoolsintheworkplaceacrossagegroups

AsimilartrendisseenforuseofAI:youngeragegroupsaremorelikelythanolderagegroups

tohaveusedAIforpersonalenjoyment,schoolworkandatwork.Forexample,47%ofthose18to24haveusedAItoh