Secure And Accurate Data Is The Key To Trusted AI Use, Say Australian Office Workers

Editor’s note: Visualisations included in this article are set to global research responses by default. Australian responses are available via filter.

Australian office workers say accurate, secure, and complete data is essential for trust to grow in the outputs and use of AI at work, according to new Salesforce research.  

Local office workers say they are beginning to trust AI to complete time-saving tasks autonomously, like writing code, uncovering data insights, and drafting written communications. Yet, while today’s workers already trust AI to do almost half of their work tasks, many workers feel most comfortable when AI and humans work together.  

The research, which surveyed 1,038 full-time office workers in Australia and nearly 6,000 globally, found that an overwhelming number (89%) of Australian office workers prefer AI to operate on tasks with human guidance. Local office workers are also quite clear on the tasks that should, for now, still be overseen by humans completely, such as onboarding, training, and keeping data safe. 

However, the data also suggests that investing in knowledge and education will build trust in an autonomous AI future. A majority of Australian office workers reported that more skill-building or training opportunities (67%), or more accessibility and inclusivity (62%), would improve their trust in AI. 

Why it matters: As technology advances, people are getting a glimpse into a future in which AI can operate autonomously for certain tasks. The Salesforce research revealed that office workers are excited about an AI-powered future, but also stressed the importance of a human touch as they build trust, knowledge, and experience with AI tools.

The research found:

Australian office workers are open to delegating tasks to AI, with 40% of full-time office workers across the country reporting that they were willing to use AI tools in their daily work, and that they would be comfortable allowing AI to-do almost half (46%) of their daily work tasks. This is higher than the global average for the survey (of 43%).

• While only 11% of Australian office workers already trust AI to operate autonomously today, this number is expected to grow over the coming years:
  • 13% say they will trust AI to operate autonomously within the next year
  • 31% say they will trust AI to operate autonomously in less than three years
  • 48% say they will trust AI to operate autonomously in three or more years
• Australian business leaders are also confident that developing this trust in autonomous AI will lead to business success:
  • 71% say trust in AI drives revenue
  • 73% say trust in AI plays a major role in customer satisfaction 
  • 80% say it drives competitiveness

While Australian office workers prefer AI-human collaboration, they’re starting to trust AI to handle certain tasks autonomously

• Tasks some Australian office workers felt comfortable delegating to autonomous AI included:

• 17% trust AI to write code autonomously
• 13% trust AI to uncover data insights on its own
• 12% trust AI to develop internal communications without a human
• Other tasks, according to respondents, must be handled by a human alone:
  • 47% trust humans alone to be inclusive 
  • 43% trust humans alone to onboard and train employees
  • 40% trust humans alone to keep data safe. 

Human involvement and enablement will pave the way to an autonomous AI future, but Australian office workers are cautious

• Human involvement is needed to build trust in AI.
  • 62% of Australian office workers fear humans will lose control of AI, while 89% don’t currently trust AI to operate without human oversight.
• Concerns about AI may come from a lack of understanding. While 54% of office workers globally say they do not know how AI is implemented or governed in their workplace, in Australia that number is far lower, with only 24% of local office workers reporting that they have knowledge of how AI is governed in their workplace.
  • Globally, office workers who are knowledgeable about how AI is implemented and governed in their workplace are 5x more likely to say they will trust AI to operate autonomously within the next two years than those who are not knowledgeable.

• Training is another key to trusted autonomy:
  • 67% of Australian office workers say more skill-building and training opportunities would build their trust in AI.
• Tech improvements can also strengthen trust in AI. To overcome the trust gap, office workers in Australia ranked the following as most important:
  • 88% say it’s important the AI tool uses accurate data 
  • 87% say that they require secure data, where the AI tool doesn’t put confidential data at risk; and 
  • 84% say holistic or complete data, where AI uses all possible, relevant data, would help them build trust 
  • The proof is in the results: 73% of respondents locally say that AI needs to consistently produce accurate outputs for them to trust it, a higher threshold than the global average of 68%

67% of Australian office workers say more skill-building and training opportunities would build their trust in AI.

Salesforce perspective:

Office workers are excited about an AI-powered future and the research shows us that human engagement can help us get there. By empowering humans at the helm of today’s AI systems, we can build trust and drive adoption – enabling workers to unlock all that AI has to offer.” – Paula Goldman, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer

“While excitement around AI’s potential to revolutionise workplaces is high, trust is paramount for employee acceptance. Our research shows Australian workers value human oversight in AI operations. Businesses building trust in AI should ensure humans continue to have significant control in developing its use in their places of work, leveraging machine speed and efficiency alongside human judgement and creativity for a more trusted autonomous future.”- Rowena Westphalen, Senior Vice President of Innovation, AI & Customer Advisory APAC.

Go deeper:

• Read a byline from Paula Goldman about why today’s AI needs a human at the helm
• See what the team at Salesforce Futures has to say about AI agents 
• Discover why the C-suite believes trusted AI drives revenue

Methodology: Salesforce conducted a double-anonymous survey in partnership with YouGov from March 20 to April 3, 2024. It included nearly 6,000 full-time knowledge workers representing companies of a variety of sizes and sectors in nine countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, France, Germany, India, Singapore, and Switzerland. The survey took place online. 1,038 respondents were from Australia.