More than half of workers perceive that hiring has declined since the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The civic group Workplace Gapjil 119 commissioned polling firm Global Research to conduct an online survey of 1,000 workers nationwide ages 19 and older from Feb. 2 to 8, and released the results on the 3rd. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
According to the survey, 47.1% (471 people) of workers said they had adopted or were adopting AI technologies such as work chatbots or Generative AI. Among them, 52.4% said hiring had decreased after AI adoption.
When 471 respondents who said they worked at corporations that had adopted AI were asked about workforce cuts or restructuring, 23.8% said it was "underway or planned." That response was relatively higher among nonregular workers earning less than 1.5 million won per month at corporations with 300 or more employees.
By contrast, the most common response on workload changes was "no change," at 54.1%. Those who said "workload increased" also came to 26.7%.
Workplace Gapjil 119 said, "There is a possibility that AI adoption will lead to restructuring, especially in industries with a high share of low-wage nonregular workers such as call centers and customer service," adding, "As capacity secured through AI use is shifted to additional tasks, labor intensity may rise."
It added, "Discussions limited to income compensation for technological change have their limits," and argued, "Along with debates on how to design the labor structure after AI adoption, workers' views must be reflected in the policy design process."