Marketplace All-in-One Workers aren't getting what they want from AI
4 snips
Aug 25, 2025 
Erik Brynjolfsson, a Stanford economist and co-author of a pivotal paper on AI and workers, discusses a revealing survey of 1,500 employees. While AI aids in repetitive tasks, many workers are dissatisfied and seek more from this technology. The conversation dives into fears about job replacement and the essential role of human involvement. Brynjolfsson advocates for rethinking incentives to align technological advancements with worker needs, promoting collaborative innovation and ensuring shared economic benefits.
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Workers Want Different AI Than It Can Offer
- Stanford's survey of ~1,500 workers found AI helps repetitive tasks but workers often want capabilities the AI can't reliably provide.
- Erik Brynjolfsson notes human desire and machine capability were often uncorrelated, revealing mismatched expectations.
Study Used An AI Voice Agent
- Brynjolfsson's team used an AI voice agent to help interview about 1,500 people for the study.
- The agent conducted conversations, transcribed and analyzed responses to scale the research efficiently.
Humans In The Loop Improve Outcomes
- Workers express fear of job replacement and concerns about AI reliability and lack of human touch.
- Brynjolfsson argues keeping humans in the loop improves reliability and often yields better performance.