More than half of Middle East workers have higher confidence in using Generative AI for work, compared to 14 per cent who are anxious about AI usage, according to a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) covering over 13,000 participants across 15 nations.

The report titled ‘AI at Work: Friend and Foe’, also highlights increasing confidence in the Middle East, fears, skill gaps, challenges, and the impact on productivity with Generative AI in the workplace. The Middle East, being part of the Global South—which also includes India, Nigeria, Brazil, and South Africa—shows significant growth in Generative AI usage and confidence compared to the Global North, which includes the US, the UK, Japan, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Australia.

Key findings from BCG AI at Work report

The AI Paradox: According to the report, GenAI confidence among workers increased to 42 per cent than last year, which stood at 16 per cent. In addition to this, the fear of job loss has also significantly increased to 42 per cent, which was 6 per cent in 2023. Reflecting that most workers using genAI have better confidence and reduced anxiety than non-users. 

However, regular users of GenAI are more concerned about job loss compared to rare users and non-users. Additionally, only 24 per cent non-users fear that their jobs could disappear over the next decade compared to 49 per cent of regular users. 

Confidence gap in roles: The report highlights that only 33 per cent of frontline employees are confident about using Generative AI, compared to 41 percent of managers and 50 per cent of leaders. This indicates that confidence in AI usage increases with higher positions in organisations. Additionally, GenAI anxiety is higher among frontline workers (22 per cent) than among managers (18 per cent) and leaders (15 per cent).

On a positive note, GenAI usage has significantly increased by 32 per cent in frontline roles, compared to an 8 percent increase among leaders and a 15 per cent increase among managers.

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Gap in skills and training opportunities: While reflecting on the skill gap with respect to GenAI usage, 64 per cent of leaders said GenAI will reshape the future of their organisations.

Currently, only 28 per cent of frontline employees have received training on GenAI usage and its impact on their performance, which is significantly less than the 50 per cent of leadership and 30 per cent of managerial roles.

This gap also highlights that there was only a 14 percent increase in training opportunities for frontline workers. They face challenges such as lack of time, ineffective training, perceived irrelevance of GenAI, and trust issues. In contrast, there was a significant increase in GenAI training opportunities for leadership, with 44 per cent, indicating they do not face such challenges.

On a brighter note, organisations in the Global South, including the Middle East, have offered better training opportunities to frontline workers and managers compared to leaders. In the Global South, 34 per cent of frontline workers and 38 per cent of managers received increased training opportunities, compared to 26 per cent of frontline workers and 27 per cent of managers in the Global North.

Beyond Productivity: Most workers using Gen AI tools reveal they are able to save at least five hours a week with the GenAI tools. The focus is now shifting to how to use that freed-up time to generate value and joy.

41 per cent of users said they could perform additional tasks, 39 per cent said they could perform new tasks, and 38 per cent said they could work on strategic tasks. An equal share of workers indicated they could finish work earlier and use the remaining time to connect with co-workers, pursue professional development, and focus more on the quality of work.