AI use at work: Which are the most sceptical and the most enthusiastic countries in Europe?

With AI enforced in nearly half of EU large companies, the latest Eurobarometer paints a nuanced picture of how people perceive its use at work, with a mix of optimism and concern.

The survey found that 66% of EU employees think AI and the most recent digital technologies are currently benefiting their work, while 21% claim AI is detrimental to their job.

Malta emerges as the most positive country, with an 85% rate, followed by Sweden at 78% and Lithuania at 76%.

Most sceptical countries also declare lowest levels of AI skills

The most AI-diffident nation is Romania (32%), followed by Italy (25%), Portugal (24%), and France and Belgium at 23%.

It's worth noting that some of the most sceptical countries also declared the lowest proficiency levels in using these new technologies.

For example, this rate is lowest in Romania (56%), followed by Hungary (60%), Greece (63%), Italy (64%) and Portugal (65%).

At the same time, 9% "don't know" how to judge the impact of AI, while 4% say it "depends" on the situation.

A third of Poles think AI should be used to 'automatically fire people'

In terms of how AI should be used at work, most respondents in the EU believe its role should be limited to ensuring workers' safety (67%) rather than directly assessing performances (36%), monitoring workers (31%) or even automatically firing people (16%) - although, on this, Poland (33%), Romania (28%) and Cyprus (25%) show particularly high rates.

Majority of people still afraid robots will 'steal' their jobs

Despite a relatively positive attitude shown by workers towards AI, 66% are afraid that the use of artificial intelligence and robots will trigger job losses. A slightly less negative perception, however, compared to five years ago (72%).

A World Economic Forum report corroborated these fears, claiming that new technologies could mean the end of 83 million jobs globally in the next three years.

According to consulting firm McKinsey, the most threatened sectors in Europe could be food services, the arts, and wholesale and retail.

In any case, the overwhelming majority (73%) agree that robots and AI can increase the pace at which jobs can be completed.

In general, respondents aged 15 to 24 are the most inclined to judge the impact of new technologies on their job positively (71%), compared to 61% of those aged 55+.

Men are more likely than women to consider themselves skilled enough to use the most recent digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, in their daily lives (73% vs 67%).