Gen AI Adoption To Impact Working Hours Of Indians, Says Accenture

Artificial intelligence is set to augment or automate 31% of the work hours of Indians, leading to a productivity boost, according to the Asia Pacific findings of Accenture's Work, Workforce, and Workers report.

The impact of generative AI on working hours in India would be significant, according to the report. It could lead to a 0.6 percentage point increase in GDP growth per year and add an additional $675 billion in economic value by 2038.

Accenture's APAC research combines economic modelling of the region's four largest economies, namely India, China, Japan and Australia, with a survey of corporate leadership in those nations as well as Singapore.

Generative AI's impact in the Asia Pacific , which includes majors like Japan, China, and Australia, will boost the region's economic value by $4.5 trillion and increase GDP growth by 0.7 percentage points.

Notably, however, the impact of Gen AI on India's work hours is the least of the APAC nations in Accenture's survey. In APAC , India ranks behind Australia (44%), Japan (42%), and China (33%).

An overwhelming 96% of business leaders in APAC acknowledge that gen AI will significantly impact their operations. Similarly, 91% of workers say they'd like to acquire the skills to work with gen AI. However, only 4% of businesses have made generative training available at scale.

Similarly, while 89% of APAC leaders plan to increase spending on AI, only 35% of business leaders in APAC are prioritising investments in their workforce development.

Of the 22 countries surveyed by Accenture, the UK will see the largest impact on its working hours, with nearly 50% of it set to be affected. On the global scale, Indians' working hours will be impacted the least.

Gen AI has the potential to create an additional $10.3 trillion in economic value by 2038 for companies, according to the professional services company. But in order for that to happen, companies are required to adopt "responsible, people-centric approaches to gen AI".

The APAC sentiment of workers wanting AI training is echoed in the worldwide survey as well, but the concern that stands out is how they don't "trust organizations to ensure positive outcomes for everyone".

Other concerns from employees include worrying about stress and burnout (60%), job insecurity (58%) and lack of clarity for what it means for their careers (57%). In fact, there is a misalignment of perceptions between workers and leadership when it comes to the impact of gen AI on work.

While 82% of workers say they have some understanding of the technology, 36% say their people don't grasp the technology. Similarly, while 94% are confident about learning how to tackle gen AI, 32% of CXOs say lack of worker skill is going to hold them back. Finally, while 60% of workers say they worry about gen AI causing burnout, only 37% of leaders believe that the technology could contribute to burnout.