A quarter of workers worry that women will be pushed out of the workforce by generative AIs such as ChatGPT.
A new survey by social enterprise Code First Girls has found that 84% of people now use ChatGPT in their workplace including in tech, content creation, graphic design and copywriting.
The data suggests employees are mainly using ChatGPT to improve productivity (58%) and speed (47%).
However, there are growing concerns regarding the future of tech teams, with 25% believing it will push women out of the workforce, and 47% agreeing that the potential imbalance in tech will cause AI models to be biased.
One such example is the recruitment industry, where unintentional bias in AI models and algorithm development can result in a lack of diversity among shortlisted candidates. AI requires a lot of data in order to work, and if that data is male-dominated, it will teach itself that men are the preferred candidate – thereby excluding women.
With the AI market estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 21.6% between 2023 – 2030, the need for diversity in AI development will only continue to grow in importance.
“The development of AI continues to demonstrate useful applications across a variety of industries and sectors,” said Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls.
“However, by not prioritising diversity in its development, we risk building models that are inherently discriminatory against race and gender minorities.
“So, with concerns about the growth of generative AI potentially pushing more women out of the workforce, businesses must work harder than ever to recruit and retain diverse tech teams that build effective and innovative AI models and wider tech products.”
Code First Girls has helped more than 150,000 women learn to code. By working with companies globally, it is boosting employability, diversity and social mobility, and transforming local economies and communities.