The UK’s 9.4 million STEM workers are wasting on average six hours every week thanks to a lack of access to advanced AI tools, according to a new ‘in-depth’ study, How the STEM world works, by STEM specialist, SThree.
The study’s results suggest this is costing the UK economy some £64 bn a year in lost productivity, with some 30% of UK STEM professionals saying productivity is the aspect of their work most negatively affected by a lack of AI tools – more than any other nation in the study. One in five STEM workers loses an entire working day a week to processes that could be accelerated with AI – and half say their company’s adoption of AI so far has been poor compared with their peers.
SThree surveyed over 2,500 STEM professionals in five of the world’s most developed STEM economies – the US, UK, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands. The study aims ‘to lift the lid on how STEM specialists view the efforts of company leaders to embrace artificial intelligence’.
Tom Way, MD – UK, SThree, said: “UK businesses need to implement AI-related change, but the pace of implementation remains a challenge. There is a huge STEM skills gap in the economy, yet here we have STEM specialists crying out for change to become more productive. It is not exaggerating to say that this reluctance to embrace AI is a risk to our economic future.”
How the STEM world works’ results highlight a gap between STEM professionals’ ‘positive views on AI and company leaders’ appetite for change’. According to the study, more than two thirds of STEM employees say adopting advanced AI would have a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ impact on company growth. However, 45% of STEM professionals say their organisation’s leadership ‘simply does not understand how the latest technologies could help them do a better job’. SThree said: “This may explain why 59% choose to describe their leadership as ‘digitally illiterate’.
Tom Way added: “If any type of worker can identify the positive benefits of AI, it’s a STEM professional. Business leaders must catch up with the rapid pace of technological development, and it is clear in some cases that this means being far more open-minded about AI. Allowing access to advanced AI tools is crucial for maintaining productivity and staying competitive. By failing to act now, organisations are hindering their own growth, and risk losing their best talent.”