Artificial Intelligence, i.e. AI, is here to stay and is already impacting the world of work in more ways than one, yet new data suggests fewer-than-expected workers in the UK prefer to interact with AI over people when looking for a job.

A limited number also believe that their role will change as a result of Artificial Intelligence this year. That’s according to the latest Candidate Sentiment Survey from specialist recruitment firm, Robert Half.

The data revealed that overall 70 percent of UK workers prefer the human touch to AI when looking for a job with more than a third (36 percent) of the UK population choosing to deal only with humans rather than AI. A further 34 percent stated that they are happy for AI to be part of the process, but still feel that people need to be a fundamental part of their experience.

Given their digital exposure it’s perhaps unsurprising to note that fewer 18-34 year olds wanted to deal only with humans (25 percent versus 40 percent of those aged 35-54 and 49 percent of the over 55’s). However, almost half of the younger demographic (43 percent) want person-to-person interaction to remain a critical component of recruitment.

A further 35 percent of UK workers stated that AI hasn’t yet impacted their role and don’t believe it will this year. Just nine percent of employees believe that this technology will reshape their role by reducing administration, while only 3 percent stated that AI is going to completely change how they work in 2024.

“AI holds the potential to greatly enable process optimization and automation, yet in many areas, the human subjective reasoning is and will remain fundamental. And it is not surprising that an overwhelming proportion of the UK workforce still views the experience of looking for a job as deeply human,” comments Kris Harris, Regional Director, UK Technology Solutions, at Robert Half.

“Finding purpose and fulfillment with meaningful work, whilst feeling connected and empowered is one way to describe the new world of work. Individuals no longer simply perceive their workplace as a means of earning a living but as an environment of shared values, beliefs, and purpose. This makes job-seeking and career-building a subjective and personal experience, which cannot solely rely on AI,” he adds.

“Although emerging generations are certainly more adept at utilizing technological developments, they still have the desire to connect with – and learn from – people, and that’s unlikely to ever disappear,” Kris concludes.