Many workers fear AI dependency more than job loss: report

With many employers requiring that workers use artificial intelligence (AI) in their everyday workflows, overreliance on the technology is turning out to be the bigger fear among workers compared to falling behind of AI adoption, according to a recent report.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of American workers are more worried about becoming too dependent on AI than about falling behind on adopting it, reports the Acceleration Agency.

"Our work suggests people are increasingly worried that relying on AI could erode the abilities they value most," says Monica Chun, president of Acceleration Community of Companies, in the report. 

The dependency concern held across gender, generation and job level, finds the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults employed full-time conducted in May. Gen Z workers report the highest rate at 78%, compared with 72% among Millennials and 74% among Gen X.

Productivity gap

The Acceleration Agency report also found workers who use AI on the job estimate it saves them an average of 15 hours per week.

Despite those reported time savings, only 31% of respondents agree AI makes them significantly more productive.

Mike Moschella, head of Acceleration Agency's intelligence division, said in the report that added information from AI creates a new burden of deciding what to trust, which he said explains why time savings are not translating into a feeling of productivity.

Skills and guilt

The survey also found 66% of workers worry AI is eroding their writing skills, and the same share worry it is diminishing their creativity, according to Acceleration Agency.

"AI has given me a lot of confidence. Maybe too much confidence," says Elijah, a 32-year-old respondent from California, in the report. "I worry it's making me worse at the things that made me good at my job in the first place."

Three in 10 (30%) respondents say using AI has felt like cheating, while 17% said they have kept their AI tools or workflows secret from colleagues or supervisors.

Gen Z respondents report the highest rates of AI-related guilt of any generation surveyed, according to the Acceleration Agency.

"I'm not sure what's real anymore, what's AI, and the rules keep changing," says Alex, a 22-year-old respondent from California, in the report.

Only 28% of workers who use AI at work rely on a company-wide or team-shared platform, the report found, meaning most employees are assembling their own AI toolkits without employer oversight.

“For the past two years, organizations have measured AI success primarily based on adoption rates and productivity gains while overlooking the negative consequences of worker dependence on AI,” says the Acceleration Agency. “In contrast, ACC's findings cite significant concerns around how executive dependence on AI can lead to declines in human judgment, creativity, and confidence. The AI Identity Report is a mandate to business leaders to ensure AI helps their employees become more capable overall, not just more efficient.”

Is AI dependency bad for employers?

AI dependency creates real costs for employers, and the evidence extends well beyond the Acceleration Agency report — a growing body of research from universities, business consultancies and cybersecurity firms points to at least four concrete risks: