India less worried about AI job losses than other countries: Pew | Economy & Policy News

As per its survey titled ‘Globally, More People Expect AI to Cause Job Loss Than Growth’, India has a lower share of adults expecting AI to reduce job opportunities than many high-income countries.

The survey, which covered 42,151 adults across 36 countries between February 8 and May 13, also found that a substantial share of respondents in India had heard or read little or nothing about AI and were unsure about its impact on jobs.

India less worried about AI-driven job losses

The survey found that about 29 per cent of adults in India believe AI would cause fewer job opportunities in their country over the next 20 years.

Over 21 per cent said it would lead to more job opportunities, while 12 per cent expected it to make little difference. Thirty-five per cent were unsure about its impact on jobs, it said.

The global median, as per the survey, was 46 per cent for those expecting fewer jobs, 9 per cent for more jobs and 25 per cent for those who were unsure.

Across the 37 countries covered in the job-impact comparison, people in 34 countries were more likely to expect AI to result in fewer jobs than more jobs.

Pew also found that people in richer countries were more likely to expect AI to reduce jobs. “In Australia, South Korea and the US, about seven in 10 adults or more expected AI to lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years,” it said.

AI awareness remains limited in India

The survey also pointed to a huge gap in AI awareness amongst the people.

In India, 13 per cent of adults said they had heard or read a lot about AI. About 29 per cent had heard or read a little, while 39 per cent said they had not heard or read anything about AI.

Across the 37 countries, the median shares were 31 per cent for a lot, 42 per cent for a little and 21 per cent for nothing at all.

Pew found that AI awareness tends to be higher in countries with higher GDP per capita. It also found that people with greater AI awareness are more likely in around half of the countries surveyed to expect the technology to result in job losses, while people with less awareness are generally more likely to be unsure.

The report also found that awareness varied by age.

In India, 33 per cent of adults aged 18-34 expected AI to lead to fewer jobs, compared with 30 per cent among those aged 35-49 and 20 per cent among those aged 50 and older. Pew identified this as a statistically significant 13-percentage-point gap between the youngest and oldest groups.

Uncertainty also extends to inequality

The same pattern appeared when respondents were asked whether AI can widen inequality.

In India, 23 per cent said AI would increase the gap between the rich and poor. Twenty-one per cent said it would make little difference, while 12 per cent said it would decrease the gap. Thirty-nine per cent were unsure.

The worldwide median was 28 per cent for those who expected AI to increase the wealth gap and 36 per cent for those who were unsure.

Pew said people were more likely to expect AI to increase rather than decrease the gap between the rich and poor. It also said relatively large shares in many countries were either unsure or expected AI to have little impact on inequality.

“Many of the same relatively wealthy countries where people are especially likely to believe AI will cost jobs also have particularly large shares who say it will increase inequality,” the survey said.

It added, “Fairly large shares in many middle-income countries are unsure, though on this question the same is true in some high-income countries like Germany and Singapore.”