It seems that some employees would welcome the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) if it meant replacing their supervisors rather than being afraid of it.
Out of 1,000, nearly a fifth of employees surveyed by the ‘Artificial Intelligence Service Business Name Generator’ said they would be happy if their current boss were replaced with an automated robot.
This viewpoint appears to be based on the complaints that many employees have about their boss, particularly the lack of appreciation and empathy as well as the favouritism displayed towards some employees over others.
Other elements of managerial dissatisfaction included unclear expectations, disorganization and micromanagement.
One in five UK and US workers said a robot would do a better job in that position. Some also believe that Artificial Intelligence would soon take over jobs.
Somewhat surprisingly, given the importance of human creativity in the field, 30% of UK arts and culture workers were happy that Artificial Intelligence would replace their boss, making it the most represented industry. It was followed by HR (23%) and manufacturing and supply (19%). Finance tied with the latter at 19%, and healthcare ranked fifth at 17%.
There was also a slight gender gap, with 18% of men and 14% of women who would like to replace their boss. However, the gap between the generations was wider, which is perhaps less surprising, a third of respondents aged 18-24 would like a replacement, compared to just 12% of those aged 55 and over.
The most common reasons why certain respondents preferred the idea of an AI manager to a human were their perceived elimination of favouritism and discrimination, and its superiority in making unbiased decisions. Other reasons included the fact that Artificial Intelligence would eliminate drama in the workplace and create a fairer environment overall.
The only downsides of an Artificial Intelligence boss cited by respondents were the lack of soft skills and difficulty for them to taking him seriously as an authority figure.