Nearly 1 In 3 Gen Z Workers Secretly Use AI On The Job, Imperial Survey Finds

A recent survey conducted by Imperial Lifelong Learning, the adult education arm of Imperial College London, reveals that nearly one-third of Gen Z workers in the UK are using AI on the job without their bosses' knowledge. The study surveyed 2,000 employees across various sectors, including healthcare, technology, finance, energy, and manufacturing. Key findings include:

1. 29% of Gen Z workers use AI at work without their employer's knowledge, compared to 17% of all workers.

2. 97% of workers are confident in their current skills for the next year, despite seeing a significant skills gap in their industry.

3. 59% of workers believe there is a skills gap in their industry, with this figure rising to 75% among business owners and executives.

4. 70% of regular AI users notice this skills gap, while only 36% of those who rarely use AI do.

5. 85% of workers want formal AI training in the next two years, and 71% would switch jobs if their employer paid for retraining.

6. Younger workers (Gen Z) are much more likely to use AI at work without their employer's consent (29%) compared to older generations.

7. Only 9% of secret AI users would stay in their current job if their employer offered paid retraining, while 28% of all workers would.

8. 26% of workers feel using AI at work is dishonest, 20% avoid it due to mistrust in the results, and 20% worry colleagues will view them negatively for using it.

The survey indicates that AI use in the workplace varies significantly by industry and rank, with technology and digital jobs seeing the highest usage. Nearly half of all workers use AI regularly, but this drops to only 31% among Baby Boomers. The study suggests that the UK workforce could become less competitive if the skills gap isn't addressed, particularly in AI and other emerging technologies.