DI: Three in four Danes don't fear AI will take their job

A new population survey from Dansk Industri (DI) and Epinion finds that most Danes in the workforce do not expect AI to take their jobs. According to the survey, 76 percent do not expect their job to be replaced by AI within the next five years, while only about 7 percent expect it to be. The survey covered people aged 18 and over, with 4,707 participants. Of these, 1,835 answered whether they already feel effects of AI, and 3,248 answered whether they fear for their job and expect to become more efficient over time.

Among respondents who use AI at work, about half say the technology already makes them faster and better at their tasks. DI's deputy director general Søren Kryhlmand calls the result remarkable given the worried public debate. He says it shows Danes trust there will still be a need for them and their skills, and that DI sees AI as a tool that strengthens work by handling routine tasks. He adds that Danish companies are among Europe's leaders in AI use and that unemployment figures show no sign of AI taking jobs.

Kryhlmand acknowledges that many people feel uncertain and that many employees will get new or different tasks as companies adopt AI. He says DI expects AI to create new growth in Danish firms, and that there is still a labour shortage.

A separate DI analysis, based on Statistics Denmark data and answers from 7,150 companies, points the same way. Since 2021, companies that use AI systematically have had revenue growth 6.5 percent above comparable firms that do not. For firms using AI across nearly the whole business, the gap is 13.3 percent. Employment has also grown, which DI says indicates the growth did not come with staff cuts. DI says the smallest companies benefit most.