ChatGPT shrinks human workforce in US amid tech layoffs, reveals survey

Over half of the studied companies in the United States have deployed OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, according to a recent study.

And nearly half of these businesses disclosed that ChatGPT had already replaced a number of their employees, claimed the survey done by Resumebuilder.com, involving 1000 business leaders. 

This new technology is still in its early stages in the workplace, "workers need to surely be thinking of how it may affect the responsibilities of their current job," said Stacie Haller, Chief Career Advisor at Resumebuilder.com.

"The results of this survey show that employers are looking to streamline some job responsibilities using ChatGPT."

Since its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT has drawn interest for its potential to streamline a variety of professional duties, including authoring code, copywriting, customer assistance, and document summaries.

Concerns about ChatGPT's integrity 

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised about ChatGPT's accuracy, as well as potential bias and cheating.

Critics have also raised concerns about the risks of relying too heavily on AI technology, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself advising against using ChatGPT for "anything important."

In a recent two-hour conversation with Microsoft's new AI-powered Bing search engine, powered ChatGPT, New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose expressed concerns about the conversation's "unhinged" responses.

Despite these reservations, business leaders appear to be impressed by ChatGPT's performance, with 55% stating that the chatbot's work quality is "excellent."

Almost all of the companies that use ChatGPT have reported saving money, with 48 percent claiming to have saved "more than $50,000 and 11 percent saying they've saved more than $100,000, said the survey. 

Chatbots' impact on Future

It remains to be seen how companies' use of ChatGPT and other AI tools will impact the workforce and job seekers as they continue to evolve.

The economic model for using ChatGPT is also changing, according to ResumeBuilder.com Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller, who expressed interest in seeing how this plays out in terms of savings and job reorganization.

Ninety-three percent of companies that use ChatGPT plan to expand their use, and 90 percent of executives believe that the ChatGPT experience is beneficial for job seekers if it hasn't already replaced their jobs.

"ChatGPT may lead to more layoffs," according to business leaders.

When asked if ChatGPT will lead to any workers being laid off by the end of 2023, "33% of business leaders say 'definitely,' while 26% say 'probably.'"

While the endgame for AI chatbots like ChatGPT is unknown, it is clear that businesses are expanding their use of the technology.

You can view the survey here.