A new Statistics Canada report released on Thursday revealed that Canada’s workers are increasingly using generative AI. However, the scale of it depends on the field.
According to the report, just over one in three workers reported back in March that they had used generative AI tools at work within the past 12 months, with 41.6 per cent of workers reporting having used at least one AI or automation technology as part of their job or business within the last 12 months.
The report also mentioned that the vast majority of workers (93.4 per cent) reported being aware of generative AI tools. Among that group, just over one half (51.5 per cent) were familiar with how these tools could be applied to their current work, which includes 15 per cent who reported being very familiar. Interestingly, a further 11.1 per cent were not familiar with how these tools could be applied to their work. Alongside that, 37.4 per cent noted that they were familiar with generative AI tools, but didn’t believe they were applicable to their work.
While workers are adopting AI tools, their use remains sporadic. The survey notes that nearly two thirds (63.5 per cent) of Canadian workers who had used AI tools within the last 12 months said they used it moderately, with around a quarter (24.9 per cent) noting “minimal usage.”
If you’re curious, 11.9 per cent of respondents reported a “broad usage” of AI tools regularly, and said they use them daily. 3.6 per cent of respondents said they use AI for every task.
Shifting to the industry side of it, StatsCan said that generative AI tools were most prevalent in professional, scientific, and technical services (65.6 per cent), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (59.2 per cent) and educational services (53.0 per cent). Compared to that, AI tools were the least prevalent in accommodation and food services (16.3 per cent), agriculture (17.5 per cent), and transportation and warehousing (21.1 per cent).
You can read the full report here.
Header image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Statistics Canada via Global News
