AI’s uneven distribution widening diversity divide

Access to artificial intelligence (AI) is not equal, widening the opportunity gap for women and lower paid workers, according to The Adaptavist Group.

Research by the diversity in tech collective found that 27% households in the UK with an income of £100,000 or more had received at least 20 hours of AI training over the past year, compared with only 11% of households with an income of £30,000 or less.

Its recent report Unlocking the AI gates also found that 84% of those from higher income households believe they’ve received good guidance on how to use AI compared with only 59% in the lower income threshold.

Jon Mort, CTO of The Adaptavist Group, said: “The findings clearly show how access to training and tools enables professionals to unlock value with AI, while simultaneously increasing job satisfaction. 

“With so much to be gained from properly implemented AI, it is critical that opportunity is not concentrated in the hands of the few. Organisations should take steps to ensure equal access to tools and training across the workforce. Without this, we risk deepening the very inequalities technology should help to solve.”

AI development and use already has a number of risk factors, including potential bias in its development when made by non-diverse teams or fed with bias datasets. Access to AI education early in the pipeline can also be an issue, with the type and quality of science, technology, engineering and maths learning varying regionally and from school to school depending on a number of factors such as access to resources and teacher training.

Adaptavist Group’s research found that AI training is disproportionately available to those who are already earning a significant amount, giving them greater opportunities for job satisfaction and skills development.

Employees with more than 20 hours of AI training claim to save more time at work – 46% of those with 20 or more hours of AI training save at least 11 hours a week using AI, with 11% of these workers saying they are saving more than 30 hours a week. Meanwhile, 18% of those with less than an hour of AI training said they’re only saving around an hour of time per week.

Only half of those with lower incomes said they feel they are developing their skills because of using AI, whereas 80% of those earning six figures said the same. People making under £30,000 were also less likely to feel their job satisfaction has increased because of AI usage, with only 14% saying this was the case compared with half of higher earners. High earners were also more likely to be given regular access to new AI tools than those with a lower income.

There is a gender pay gap in the UK technology sector, with women making less than their male counterparts for the same job, so with Adaptavist Group’s research finding higher earners have better access to AI training, it’s no surprise that women are not being offered the same opportunities as their male counterpart s in many cases.

More than 20% of women said that they’ve had less than an hour of AI training, with only 10% of men saying the same. Meanwhile, 45% of women said they’ve had more than five hours of training in the subject over the past year, compared with 57% of men. Men were also more likely to have received their AI training via a specialist external provider.

Not only are those with higher incomes more likely to receive AI training than those making under £30,000, but those also working for larger companies are more likely to have received training in AI.

More than half of small businesses in the UK with fewer than 50 staff members have has less than three hours of AI training in the past 12 months, whereas 58% of companies with more than 5,000 members of staff have had more than three hours of AI training over the past year. More than 20% of smaller businesses have had no AI training in the last year, compared with only 16% of their larger counterparts.