The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce is already visible with newspaper, magazine and online publication journalists being replaced by it. In the white-collar sector, the CEO of Anthrophic says the unemployment rate in America will rise to 20% as humans are replaced by AI. The majority of the news about the use of AI is negative. But a study conducted by the UK government found that in certain situations, the use of AI can be good for workers.
20,000 civil servants in the UK were given access to Microsoft 365 Copilot for three months. After that period, the study found that the use of AI had saved 26 minutes of working time a day or the equivalent of 2 weeks of working time a year for each civil servant.
At the Companies Commission, for example, AI is being used to handle common customer queries and speed up tasks such as drafting responses and updating records. At the Department for Work and Pensions, it is being used to personalise advice for job seekers so they get faster and more tailored support.
In a report published by the Alan Turing Institute, AI was found to be able to support 41% of civil servant tasks, which in turn reduces costs. Civil servants in the UK spend 30 minutes a day responding to emails, which can now be reduced by up to 70% with the help of AI. Teachers spend 100 minutes a day planning lessons, which can be reduced by 75% using AI.
The use of AI has a bad reputation for being labeled as a tool for cheating and promoting laziness. This is true, but at the same time, when used correctly, it can reduce the burden of trivial work that not only haunts civil servants but also the private sector.
In Malaysia, the National AI Office (NAIO) introduced the AI at Work initiative last December. The initiative is a joint effort between the Ministry of Digital and Google Cloud to integrate Gemini for Google Workspace into the daily workflow of civil servants. There is no report yet on the impact of its use among Malaysian civil servants. If the UK study is anything to go by, it may be safe to assume that it will also save Malaysian civil servants time.