23 November 2017
According to a survey commissioned by software and services company Tieto, people in the Nordics think Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do a better job than humans in many roles – even very demanding ones. However, when it comes to utilising AI within healthcare, scepticism is high compared to the experts' assessment. Most people also believe new technology will make it more difficult to get jobs in the future – but very few think their own job is at stake.
In the survey, conducted by the international research firm YouGov on behalf of Tieto, over 3,000 people from Sweden, Finland and Norway were asked about Artificial Intelligence and its impact on society. The results show that almost eight out of ten (79%) believe that AI and robots will to some extent make it harder to get jobs in the future, but only 10 percent see it as a high probability that an AI will replace their current job. 39 percent believe their job won´t be affected at all.
"The awareness and understanding about AI is rather low amongst the general public. Few realise that it is already being introduced broadly in various areas, with data-driven decision-making increasingly supplementing our human skills and competences. At the same time, the discussion around AI has focused too much on jobs disappearing, when in fact we should also emphasize the new types of roles and tasks emerging as a result. AI brings a multitude of abilities and needs for new expertise to all industries”, says Ari Järvelä, Head of Data-driven Businesses, Tieto.
AI will make everyday life easier - but is also a source of concern
According to the survey, almost three out of four (71%) people in the Nordics believe that new technology, driven by AI, will help make their everyday life easier – but at the same time, eight out of ten (80%) are to different degrees worried about the consequences on society.
The sector which people believe will be impacted the most by AI within the next decade is industry and manufacturing. Customer support, postal and delivery services, accounting and banking services are other areas expected to undergo similar development. Healthcare, however, is not believed to be affected to the same extent - only one in seven people, 16 percent, believe that AI will have a substantial impact on the area. This contradicts the view of many experts who predict healthcare to be one of the fastest evolving sectors with the help of AI.
"It is clear that industries that have been early in adopting various forms of automation are also expected to undergo the biggest change with AI. However, healthcare is an area where this technology will play a vital role, improving both cost-efficiency and quality of care. There are many ongoing projects in which AI can analyse health data and suggest preventive measures at both individual and societal level. Going forward, the benefits of the new technology will become all the more evident for citizens – this is just the beginning”, says Ari Järvelä.
The results further show that AI is viewed as a disrupting force regarding many types of roles and tasks. The list of roles that people think could be done better by AI includes IT support, accountants, check-out staff, bus and taxi drivers. Occupations where people believe an AI would do a worse job, are those traditionally associated with close everyday human interaction, such as teachers and doctors.
For additional information, please contact:
Mikko Viitala, Head of Media Relations and Reputation Management, Tieto
mikko.viitala@tieto.com, +46 (0) 72 242 16 18
Want to know more about AI in healthcare?
Come visit Slush in Helsinki, there Tieto will present how AI can be used to create risk models and preventive health measures for individuals and at a societal level. More information available here: https://campaigns.tieto.com/Tietoxslush
Excerpts from the survey:
Which of the following roles do you think would do a better job if they were completely or partially replaced by an AI/robot in their professional practice?
Percentage that answered “would do a better job” or “would do a much better job”
Top 5:
IT-support 33%
Accountants 31%
Check-out staff 27%
Bus/taxi drivers 23%
Officials in municipalities 23%
Bottom 5:
Lawyers 15%
My boss 14%
Doctors 13%
Teachers 12%
Sports commentators 12%
| To what extent do you think the following areas will be taken over by robots / AI within the next 10 years? (Top 10) | Not at all | To a small extent | Partly | To a large extent | To a very large extent | Do not know |
| Industry and manufacturing | 2% | 7% | 22% | 36% | 24% | 9% |
| Accounting | 6% | 12% | 28% | 29% | 15% | 11% |
| Postal and delivery services | 5% | 11% | 30% | 30% | 14% | 10% |
| Customer support | 7% | 16% | 28% | 27% | 12% | 9% |
| Banking and Finance | 7% | 13% | 31% | 27% | 12% | 10% |
| Cleaning and disposal services | 8% | 17% | 31% | 25% | 10% | 9% |
| Transportation services | 10% | 23% | 28% | 20% | 9% | 10% |
| Insurance | 9% | 18% | 31% | 21% | 9% | 13% |
| Dating and relationship counselling | 19% | 22% | 22% | 16% | 7% | 14% |
| Retail | 8% | 22% | 34% | 20% | 7% | 10% |
| To what extent do you agree with the following statements | Not at all | To a small extent | Partly | To a large extent | To a very large extent | Do not know |
| New technology based on AI will make my job easier | 21% | 17% | 25% | 14% | 6% | 18% |
| My current job will be replaced, in whole or part by new technology (AI/robots) within the next 10 years | 39% | 20% | 14% | 6% | 4% | 17% |
| New technology based on AI will make my everyday life easier | 13% | 16% | 30% | 18% | 8% | 16% |
| I would prefer that my salary/bonus was set by a robot/AI, through data-based analysis of my work and achievements | 34% | 19% | 18% | 10% | 4% | 15% |
| The society would benefit from becoming more data- and fact-driven with the help of AI and robots | 14% | 19% | 32% | 14% | 6% | 14% |
| AI and robots will make it harder to get jobs in the future | 6% | 13% | 31% | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| I would like to be evaluated by a fact-based robot/AI (instead of a human boss) at work | 36% | 21% | 17% | 9% | 4% | 12% |
| I am worried about the development of AI and its consequences for humans and society | 10% | 19% | 29% | 18% | 14% | 10% |
About the survey
The survey was conducted by the opinion and market research company YouGov. During the period 22 August - 19 September 2017, a total of 3 052 web interviews have been conducted with men and women 18 years and older in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
For more information and results visit: https://campaigns.tieto.com/AIsurvey
About Tieto
Tieto aims to capture the significant opportunities of the data-driven world and turn them into lifelong value for people, business and society. We aim to be customers’ first choice for business renewal by combining our software and services capabilities with a strong drive for co-innovation and ecosystems. www.tieto.com
