74% of IT Professionals Worry AI Will Make Their Skills Obsolete — AI Skills Report

Online education company Pluralsight’s recent AI Skills report survey reveals that 74% of IT professionals worry that AI will make their day-to-day skills obsolete. The company surveyed 1,200 executives and IT professionals across the U.S. and the UK to better understand the rapidly evolving AI landscape and how organizations are preparing for the future.

Key takeaways from the survey:

1. 87% of the organizations plan to increase AI spending in the next 12 months.

2. 95% of executives and 94% of AI professionals believe that AI initiatives will fail without staff who know AI use.

3. 81% of IT professionals feel confident in integrating AI into their roles, but only 12% have experience working with AI.

4. 74% of IT professionals worry that AI will make their day-to-day skills obsolete.

5. Both executives and IT professionals believe investing in talent, training, and culture is the first step organizations should take to prepare for emerging AI technology and tools. But only 40% of organizations have structured training on AI.

Regarding AI adoption, only 20% of organizations have already adopted AI, while 55% plan to do so, and 25% do not.

When asked about the top 5 reasons for using AI, 16% said they use it to enhance automation and efficiency, 16% for customer experience or support, 13% for business functions, 11% for employee experience, and 10% for security and fraud prevention.

The report further states that 90% of executives don’t completely understand their team’s AI skill and proficiency. Based on the findings, the report suggests some measures to solve the the AI skills gap:

1. Organizations must consider outsourcing vs. upskilling

2. Create an AI skill development strategy before adopting AI technology

3. Assess employees’ current AI knowledge and skills

4. Provide hands-on learning opportunities

5. Track AI upskilling success and build a continuous learning culture