More than a third of Irish office workers feel they could not do their jobs without the help of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey commissioned by Irish IT and cybersecurity services company Landmark Technologies.
The research, carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Landmark, surveyed 1,000 employees in the Republic on their AI concerns and behaviours as it becomes ever more prevalent in Irish workplaces.
The survey found more than half of workers believe their job will significantly change due to AI, while 43 per cent are concerned that AI will make their role redundant. To combat this, 64 per cent of office workers are actively learning AI skills to stay relevant in their roles.
A majority (87 per cent) of office workers said they use AI tools for work and, of these, almost half (48 per cent) use them daily.
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The research suggests that, as adoption of AI continues to increase, so too does the associated risk, the report said.
Of those who use AI tools, a quarter use them to summarise contracts or legal documents, 23 per cent leverage AI tools to make decisions without human oversight, while 18 per cent analyse confidential company data.
In the past 12 months, one in 10 employees have entered confidential company data into an AI tool, such as ChatGPT, that wasn’t approved by their employer.
Some 18 per cent of employees completed a work task using an AI tool without checking it for accuracy, while 11 per cent sent AI-generated content to a customer without reviewing it.
Nearly half (48 per cent) said they trust AI-generated content for “critical work decisions”.
Landmark Technologies managing director Ken Kelleher said it was “remarkable” two in five Irish employees now say AI is “essential to doing their job”.
“It points to the crucial role AI is playing in Irish workplaces through automation, time savings, and enhanced decision-making,” he said.
“Yet our research shows many organisations have not kept pace with this change. The human element remains vital, and businesses need to prioritise AI training and upskilling to align with evolving technological demands and stay competitive.
“With employees sharing confidential data on unapproved tools and using AI outputs without checking them, strict oversight is needed. Employers must ensure stringent processes are in place to protect not only their own business data and operations, but those of their customers too.”
