Use AI at work? You might be ruining your reputation, a new study finds

There are plenty of AI tools to make your life at work easier, but your coworkers might think you’re lazy for using them. 

A new study funded by Duke University shows that despite AI’s prevalence in the workplace, it comes with a “social penalty.” The study says people who use AI face negative judgment from their coworkers about their ability and motivation. The impact also applies to job candidates.

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This builds on a study last fall that showed workers are hiding AI use from their managers because it might make them seem lazy or less competent.

For this study, researchers ran four experiments on a pool of 4,400 people. Here’s what they found:

• Employees who use generative AI tools (tools that create letters, code, and other content) expect to be judged more negatively than those who use non-generative AI tools (tools that do things like monitor systems and analyze images). 
• Those expectations are valid, as observers genuinely did see AI users more negatively in areas like diligence, competence, and independence, even if the AI assistance was equal to human capability.
• Disclosing that you use AI might hurt your chances of getting a job in the first place. In a simulated hiring scenario, managers who regularly use AI were more accepting of candidates who use AI. Managers who don’t use AI were less likely to hire candidates who do. 
• The penalty for using AI goes away when it’s helpful to the task, if the employee clearly discloses they’re using AI, and perhaps most importantly, when the manager uses AI themselves.

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In short, the study seems to show we might have reached a bit of a barrier to adopting AI at work simply because of how it’s perceived by others. People know AI can be useful, but they’re wary about using it. The study included a wide range of genders, ages, and occupations, but every single demographic had the same feelings about AI.

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