A new phobia is spreading across the world: people fear losing their jobs because they may be replaced by artificial intelligence.

For example, nearly one in four employees in the United Kingdom fears that AI could replace their position within the next five years. One-third of Germans share the same concern. Meanwhile, some Americans are even willing to work under AI supervision.

But do Ukrainians have similar concerns? To find out, Work.ua conducted a survey among job seekers on the platform.

One in Five Respondents Fears the Development of Artificial Intelligence

For the most part, Ukrainians are not overly concerned about automation and AI. This is hardly surprising, given that during a full-scale invasion there are many other reasons for anxiety.

Still, 21% of respondents expressed concerns about technological development. Most of them do not have a clear action plan for remaining competitive in the labour market.

Millennials Feel the Most Uncertain, While Boomers Are Learning New Professions

Work.ua also analysed how respondents’ answers differed depending on age, gender, and profession.

It turned out that Gen Z respondents are the most confident that AI will not replace them: 45% of respondents under the age of 25 believe their jobs are safe from AI. At the same time, this age group also has the highest share of people learning new skills or a new profession — 9%. The same high proportion of proactive respondents is found among candidates aged 45+.

Meanwhile, the most uncertain generation appears to be people aged 35–44. This group has the lowest share of respondents confident that AI will not replace them (35%) and the highest share of those who feel fear but do not have a «Plan B» (14%).

Comparing the responses of men and women, men more often chose the option «No, I definitely won’t be replaced»: 45% versus 37%. At the same time, women think about this threat less often overall: 42% of women and 36% of men answered, «I haven’t thought about it / I’m not worried about it.»

We assume that the difference between the responses of men and women is largely due to the division of professions into «male» and «female» occupations.

IT Specialists and Marketers Most Often Learn New Skills as a Backup

Respondents’ professions also had a significant impact on the survey results. We analysed how job seekers answered depending on the category in which they uploaded their resumes.

Job seekers with resumes in the categories «IT, Computers, Internet» (14%), «Media, Publishing, Printing» (13%), «Marketing, Advertising, PR» (10%), and «Finance, Banking» (9%) are the most likely to acquire new skills or learn a new profession because of fears related to AI. Educators are the least likely to do so (only 3%).

Representatives of traditional professions do not think about or worry about automation: lawyers (52%) and medical professionals (51%).

Educators and top managers (48%), hospitality industry workers (47%), construction workers (45%), and transport specialists (44%) are completely confident in their irreplaceability.