80% of workers rely on AI, but nearly 1 in 2 don't inform their boss: Survey
recent survey
of 1,000 US employees across industries, conducted by Gusto. As ChatGPT surpasses one billion users globally, 80% of US workers report using AI at work, with 36% calling it 'essential' to their jobs. Yet only 26% say their organisations have clear AI policies, signalling a major gap between top-down governance and on-the-ground adoption.
The report reveals that 45% of workers have used AI without informing their managers, with Gen Z and tech workers leading covert adoption. Two-thirds (66%) are personally paying for AI tools, underscoring a bottom-up transformation in how technology is being deployed across the workforce. However, this quiet shift comes with unease: 47% of employees have taken precautionary steps due to AI-related uncertainty, including increased savings (34%) and starting side hustles (24%).
Skill inflation is also on the rise. One in four workers admitted to exaggerating their AI skills during hiring, often learning on the job or catching up later. This 'fake it till you make it' trend reflects growing pressure to appear AI-literate amid limited access to formal training.
Google Trends data further shows rising anxiety nationwide about AI's impact on jobs, with California, Florida, and Texas showing the highest search volumes. When adjusted for population, Colorado and Mississippi rank highest per capita, with top concerns centred around job loss and the future of tech employment.
Despite the enthusiasm for AI tools, the workforce is divided: 36% see AI as essential, while the rest view it as experimental. Still, 53% of workers say their productivity would suffer if AI were banned, highlighting its growing integration into day-to-day tasks.
Transparency remains low, with only 32% proactively disclosing their use of AI, while the rest offer minimal or no explanation. This lack of clarity raises concerns around feedback, task assignment, and evaluation processes, making it harder for managers to assess work quality.
Compounding these issues is a growing compensation gap. While 39% of companies have seen ROI from AI usage, only 17% of workers report receiving raises, bonuses, or recognition tied to AI-enhanced performance. Nearly a quarter (24%) believe their employers are benefiting financially while they see no personal gain, and 17% feel they're being asked to do more without additional pay.
The findings underscore a quiet yet profound shift in workplace dynamics. Workers are leading AI adoption without waiting for top-down direction, creating pressure on employers to formalise policies, provide training, and ensure equitable benefits. Failure to do so risks widening the disconnect between corporate leadership and frontline innovation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
8 minutes ago
- Hans India
Trump's comments on India and its economy 'belittling, unacceptable': Anand Sharma
Congress leader and former commerce minister Anand Sharma on Monday asserted that US President Donald Trump's comments on India and its economy are "belittling and unacceptable", as he urged the government not to succumb to the American leader's "bullying tactics" to sign a "suboptimal" trade deal. In a statement, Sharma said India must uphold its sovereignty and supreme national interests and Parliament as well as leaders of all political parties must be taken in confidence on any understanding reached with the US. "President Trump has triggered an upheaval and caused unprecedented disruption in the world order by his utterances and actions. His comments on India and its economy are belittling and unacceptable," the Congress leader said. His remarks come days after Trump announced the imposition of 25 per cent tariff and penalties on India and called India and Russia "dead economies". Echoing Trump's criticism of the Indian economy, Rahul Gandhi had last week said everybody except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman know that the country's economy is "dead". In his statement, Sharma said India has withstood pressures and threats in the past and emerged stronger. "President Trump is mistaken that India does not have options. As the fourth largest economy India has resilience and inherent strength to engage with the world on principles of equality and mutual respect," Sharma said. "Signing of a robust economic and trade agreement with the UK is most welcome. India should prioritise concluding India-EU Trade deal. It is equally important to engage with major trading blocs and regions: Africa Union, ASEAN, GCC and LAC to deepen market access and trade," Sharma said. He said the government must not succumb to Trump's "bullying tactics" to sign a "suboptimal" trade deal. "India must uphold its sovereignty and supreme national interests. Parliament and leaders of all political parties must be taken in confidence on any understanding reached with the US," Sharma said.
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump thinks he's winning on trade, but America will lose
MORE than 100 days after President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day', the new global trading order is becoming clear. It is a system of imperial preference. Canada has angered the president, partly by planning to recognise Palestine as a state, and so it faces a duty of 35%. Because Mr Trump reckons that exporters unfairly cheat America, on July 31st he said he would impose 'reciprocal' tariffs on many trading partners, ranging from 10% to 41%. Meanwhile, in order to ward off tariff threats the European Union, Japan and South Korea have all struck deals with Mr Trump, where they promise to open their markets and invest hundreds of billions of dollars in America, in return for levies on their exports of 15%. A seductive idea is settling in that America is winning from all this. The president has, after all, got his biggest trading partners to make deals that are closer to his demands than theirs. Financial markets have shrugged off higher duties, the real economy shows little sign of damage and all the time tariff revenues are rolling in. But that thinking is deeply misguided. The game is not over. And it is one that America cannot win. For all the crowing about how Trump Always Chickens Out, the president has pressed forward with tariffs. America's effective tariff rate is due to rise to 18% on August 7th, according to the Yale Budget Lab, nearly eight times the prevailing rate last year, and back to levels last seen in the Depression. The way MAGA paints it, this is a triumph for Mr Trump, because America's trading partners are eating higher tariffs, helping US Customs rake in nigh on $30bn in revenues a month. Unfortunately, that idea is gaining currency even outside America. Soon after the eu struck its deal with Mr Trump, opponents in European capitals lamented the fact that the bloc would have to pay. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of trade economics. Years of experience show that tariffs do not harm the sellers of goods as much as they harm the buyers. The more the president raises tariffs, the more his own compatriots will be deprived of choice at low prices. Even though foreign suppliers are lowering their prices more steeply than after Mr Trump's first-term tariffs, analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that fully four-fifths of tariff costs have so far been borne by American firms and consumers. Just ask Ford, or GM: the carmakers reckon they paid $800m and $1.1bn in tariff costs, respectively, in the second quarter of this year alone. What of the muted economic and financial market reaction so far? The IMF has raised its projections for both global and American economic growth this year, compared with forecasts it made in April. Although it has fallen since Mr Trump signed his order, the S&P 500 remains nearly 12% higher than it was on Liberation Day; the dollar, though down, has strengthened in recent weeks. The answer is that the economy is being buffeted by various forces, including heavy stockpiling before tariffs came into effect—delaying the pain, but not eliminating it—as well as an extraordinary boom in artificial-intelligence-based capital spending. According to Renaissance Macro Research, capital investments in AI have contributed more to America's gdp growth in the past two quarters than all of consumer spending. Partly propelled by this, stockmarkets have gone from strength to strength. Perhaps, too, investors believe that companies will adapt to higher tariffs. The incentive to route trade through places with relatively low duties will be strong—even though Mr Trump has vowed to punish such 'trans-shipment' with tariffs of 40%. An uncomfortable dynamic has also set in: because investors think that the president will eventually chicken out, they are emboldening him to press ahead. As he does so, however, the long-term costs to the economy will mount. In the name of fairness Mr Trump is discarding a multilateral system in which tariffs were charged on the same goods, regardless of where they came from. In its place is a bilateral system where products can face differential rates depending on their origin. These new rates are not just higher; they are subject to ceaseless bargaining over almost any issue. Just this week, those issues included the Brazilian courts' pursuit of a Trump ally and a border war between Thailand and Cambodia. Because tariff policy is set by one man alone, the bargaining will be subject to lobbying and presidential whim. Because of who he is, Mr Trump will consider exemptions when he is next flattered, and threaten duties when he is next displeased. American shoppers will pay the price. Once they were spoilt for choice, as both domestic and foreign producers competed to sell to them. Now the companies that succeed will do so not only because they are the most innovative, but also because they are the cleverest at playing the system. And remember that a ratchet effect is at work here. When—or rather, if—future presidents want to restore tariffs to their original level, they will be met by furious lobbying from American firms that got used to sheltering behind tariff barriers and have thereby become uncompetitive in world markets. Everything about this is harmful. And, whatever Mr Trump says, nothing about it is fair.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 minutes ago
- Business Standard
No H-1B visa, study and get out: Trump aide's message to foreign students
Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and close aide to US President Donald Trump, has called for a complete purge of international students from American universities. Bannon's comments reignite the debate over the future of the H-1B visa programme and the place of foreign talent in the United States. 'I don't think you should have any foreign students in the country right now,' said Bannon, claiming that international students are edging out American students from educational and job opportunities. He added, 'Instead of stapling a green card to their diploma, the administration should staple an exit visa. Boom, you are out of here. You get 30 days to hang out with classmates, you can come back for alumni stuff, but you are gone.' Why does Bannon believe foreign students are harming America? Bannon argued that allowing foreign students to stay in the US after graduation drains other countries of talent, likening it to British imperial policies. 'The countries of the world won't get better if you're sucking up every piece of talent. That's how the British ran their empire. It's imperial,' he said. He also warned that blocking legal pathways like student visas will only worsen illegal immigration. 'If everyone wants to come to Harvard and they can't, they will come through Central America, and we'll stay in the same mess we are trying to clear now,' said Bannon. Are H-1B visas responsible for American job losses? The H-1B visa programme has come under renewed scrutiny as US tech giants announce waves of layoffs. According to around 80,000 tech jobs have been cut this year. While companies insist that foreign workers are also being laid off and that H-1B visas are not to blame, American tech workers remain sceptical. In 2024, nearly 400,000 H-1B visas were approved — more than double the number issued in 2000. However, a large portion of these approvals were for renewals rather than new applications. Most H-1B holders work at major firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, who invest heavily to retain foreign-born employees, Newsweek reported. What did Vice President JD Vance say about hiring foreign workers? US Vice President JD Vance has criticised tech companies for firing American workers while continuing to hire from abroad. In July, Vance publicly targeted Microsoft, saying he doesn't believe the 'bulls**t story' that companies can't find qualified Americans. 'We want the very best and the brightest to make America their home. But I don't want companies to fire 9,000 American workers and then to go and say, 'We can't find workers here in America.' That's a bulls**t story,' said Vance during a bipartisan forum. The US labour market has also shown signs of weakness. The July jobs report revealed only 73,000 new jobs added that month, with downward revisions slashing 258,000 jobs from May and June figures. How are these remarks affecting international students? Bannon's comments come as foreign students, especially from India, face mounting challenges in securing US visas for the upcoming academic session. 'The 27 per cent drop in the number of F-1 student visas, particularly for Indian students, may seem linked to Trump's return, but the reasons go deeper,' Mamta Shekhawat, founder of a study abroad platform, told Business Standard. Shekhawat explained that visa denials were already on the rise even before Trump's re-election. 'However, the decline significantly accelerated after the introduction of new immigration norms by his administration. In May 2025, the US government paused pending visa interviews and tightened vetting, causing delays and a large number of cancellations,' she said. Are Indian students now choosing other countries to study abroad? Shekhawat noted that Indian students are now actively exploring alternatives to the US. 'We have witnessed firsthand a clear shift in students' outlook towards studying in the US. The majority are increasingly turning to destinations like New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Australia and France,' she said. According to her, this change is not only because of visa rejections. 'Indian students are aligning strategically towards a broader portfolio of study abroad opportunities, moving beyond traditional destinations like the US and UK,' said Shekhawat.
