Poll finds ChatGPT already replacing jobs, even if it’s a bad idea

A new poll of business leaders claims there is already widespread adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI in the private sector—and some have already replaced human workers using the technology, despite a warning from OpenAI’s CEO suggesting that might not be the brightest idea.

Career site Resume Builder posted the results of a February 2023 poll of 1,000 US business leaders, where 49% of respondents said their company is already using ChatGPT in some capacity, while an additional 30% plan to. Of those who said ChatGPT was already implemented, 48% said they have already replaced workers and 25% claimed to have already saved over $75,000.

Here’s what Resume Builder found ChatGPT is already being used for, according to the respondents:

• Writing code (66%)
• Copywriting/content creation (58%)
• Customer support (57%)
• Creating summaries of meetings/documents (52%)

Additionally, strong majorities of respondents who said their companies use ChatGPT said it’s in use throughout the hiring process for writing job descriptions (77%), drafting interview questions (66%), and responding to applicants (65%). (Resume Builder has previously posted a survey suggesting use of generative AI to build résumés is now becoming common.)

Given that, despite the hype around its rollout, OpenAI expects just $200 million in revenue in 2023 and only launched a paid subscription plan on February 1—and the poll was conducted online using a convenience-sampling method—these numbers should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt.

Replacing workers with ChatGPT goes against the advice of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. He tweeted a warning in December 2022 that the technology is “incredibly limited,” despite its ability to trick users into believing it’s much smarter than it is, and it would be a “mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now.”—TM

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