Over 70% of employees across all the Gulf nations are showing strong optimism, trust and ethical usage of Artificial Intelligence, according to a recent study by KPMG in collaboration with Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne.

The study titled ‘Trust, Attitudes, and Use of AI: A Global Study 2025’ gathered insights from 48,000 people across 47 countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The report also underlines that "since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI has seen explosive growth, with tools like OpenAI’s generative AI suite quickly gaining millions of users."

AI is now woven into industries around the world, from healthcare and education to manufacturing and finance, driving innovation and making work more efficient. But AI’s potential has also raised key concerns about ethics, governance, and trust."

Key insights on people’s perceptions of AI, trust, ethical usage, and its impact in the workplace:

AI Usage: The study shows that emerging economies, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, are leading the charge in AI adoption, while many developed economies in Europe and North America show more cautious engagement with AI technologies.

In the Middle East, UAE with 91%, Saudi Arabia with 88% are among the top six nations leading in AI usage, while the global average is about 66%. 

Interestingly, despite being leading tech hubs, the U.S. and the UK stand at 52% in regular AI usage, and also showing a lag in fully integrating AI into regular work processes.

AI Literacy and Training:  The UAE, and Saudi Arabia falling within 60% to 80% range again are among the leading nations to show strong AI knowledge, efficacy, and training, along with other emerging economies like Nigeria, Egypt, India, and China. These numbers show impressive levels of AI understanding, confidence in its use, and formal training.

On the other hand, more developed nations like Germany, Hungary, Japan, and the Czech still have a gap, especially when it comes to the difference between AI knowledge and actual training. Even the USA and UK, despite their tech prowess, show moderate knowledge but struggle with offering enough training and support, which could leave their workforces less prepared to use AI tools effectively. 

Trust in AI: The report tells us that in emerging economies like Nigeria, India, China, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, trust levels are impressively high—often soaring above 80%. People in these countries generally feel confident in AI’s abilities and its ethical use.

However, trust in AI systems drops significantly in many developed nations. Countries like Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, and Germany often report trust levels below 50%.

It means while people are using AI tools, they are being more cautious as concerns around data privacy, algorithmic bias, and manipulation make them hesitant to fully embrace AI in their everyday lives and work.

AI benefits - Expectations vs. Reality: When it comes to the benefits of AI, emerging economies like Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have a positive outlook. People in these countries see big potential for AI to save time, boost efficiency, spark creativity, and even lead to better outcomes for society as a whole.

In fact, more than 90% of respondents in these regions agree on the positive impact AI could have in several key areas.

Meanwhile, in more developed countries like the US, UK, Japan, Finland, and Australia, there's a bit more hesitation.

Less than 60% of people there believe AI will significantly improve things like decision-making or efficiency, which suggests they’re taking a more cautious approach to AI's potential.

Concerns about AI Risks: But despite the optimism, there are growing concerns about the risks of AI usage. The risks include: factual inaccuracies/misinformation, environment threats, cybersecurity threats, bias or unfair treatment, loss of privacy, and job displacement are among the top concerns globally, with many countries reporting over 80–90% concern about these issues.

Developed countries, such as those in Europe, exhibit higher levels of concern across the board. 

Gulf nations, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, show relatively low concern (under 65%) across most AI risk categories—likely a reflection of proactive government strategies and a positive public narrative around AI’s potential for economic growth. However, they do see cybersecurity threats, loss of human connection, and loss of privacy as the biggest risks, with concern levels exceeding 80%.

In comparison, emerging economies like India, Egypt, and Nigeria express more moderate concerns, focusing primarily on job loss and manipulation.

AI in the Workplace: When analysing the use of AI at work, countries like India, Nigeria, and China show high adoption rates, with India leading both in usage (91%) and trust (81%) in AI at work.

Gulf nations also show both high use (over 80%) and trust in AI at work (at 69%) in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. 

This is in stark contrast to many Western countries, such as Japan, Germany, and the UK, where AI use at work is lower (below 60%), and trust in these systems is even more limited.

This trust gap suggests that while many employees are using AI tools at work, they may not yet fully trust them, especially in countries where AI literacy and transparency may be lacking.

Employees perspectives on impact of AI in the future of work: 

• Awareness of AI’s impact on work and jobs is higher in employees, with 50% agreeing that AI will change how they perform daily tasks, only about one in three believe AI will create more jobs than it eliminates. 

• 50% of the global workforce feels AI will lead to job losses rather than job creation, reflecting widespread concern about its societal effects. 
• Nearly 40% of the global workforce has observed or experienced potential job losses due to AI adoption.
• Notably, one in five (20%) of employees reports experiencing job insecurity linked to AI (stemming from the diversity of jobs and industries, and relevance of AI capabilities to different occupations)
• 39% of employees in emerging economies (including UAE and KSA) believe AI will generate more jobs than it will eliminate, compared to only 23% in advanced economies.
• 53% of employees in emerging economies reflect greater confidence in AI's ability to perform key aspects of their work as compared to 35% in advanced economies. 
• 56% of employees in emerging economies are more concerned about being left behind if they don’t adapt to AI, as compared to 42% in advanced economies.
• 67% of AI trained employees believe AI will change their daily work, compared to just 43% of those without AI training.

• 65% of managers believe AI will create more jobs than it eliminates, compared to 36-56% in other occupations.
• 72% of high-income employees report increased quality and accuracy of work, compared to just 44% of low-income employees.
• AI-trained workers and managers are more likely to report higher efficiency and increased revenue-generating activity, with 76% of AI-trained employees and 75% of managers observing these benefits.
• Employees in sectors such as IT, finance, and media report the highest adoption of AI at work, with 72-85% using AI regularly and experiencing strong organizational support for its use.

The study underlines that employees that are younger, university-educated, higher-income, AI trained, are in managerial roles, will lead the charge when it comes to using and trusting AI at work. They tend to be more AI-literate, more confident in its potential, and more optimistic about how it will reshape their roles.

But not everyone is benefiting equally. As older employees, with lower incomes, and without formal AI training or higher education risk falling behind.

This growing “AI divide” could impact career growth and access to opportunities unless it’s addressed. The divide isn’t just about demographics—it’s sectoral too.

Industries like government, healthcare, and transport report slower adoption and lower trust in AI’s capabilities.

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However, as AI becomes crucial in the world of work, companies and governments must prioritise ethical AI use, invest in training and upskilling, and create inclusive strategies. Bridging the trust and skills gap—especially between sectors and across economies—will be key to building a future where AI works for everyone.