AI productivity is beginning to overtake humans in various workplace tasks, according to the AI Index Report carried out by California’s Stanford University. 

The study found that AI had already surpassed humans in tasks such as image classification, understanding of English and visual reasoning. 

However, the report found that AI still struggled behind humans with more complex tasks such as advanced mathematics, commonsense reasoning and planning. 

The research found data to suggest that workers were more productive when using AI tools during their workday, especially for repetitive tasks or data analysis work. 

Productivity was cited by surveyed developers in the report as the dominant benefit of integrating AI, with over 30% of AI developers citing this. 

The Index stated that around 25% of surveyed consultants using AI stated that it increased the speed of their work, with a further 40% also stating that AI increased the quality of their work output. 

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AI’s impact on legal analysis was also considered in Stanford’s research. 

Legal teams using AI stated that it made contract drafting around 32% quicker than their normal unassisted work. Complaint drafting was similarly affected, with legal teams estimating that using AI had shortened the process by 24%. 

Stanford also suggested that using AI could bridge the gap between low and high skilled employees. 

Chief operating officer of IT management company FDM Group, Sheila Flavell, stated that AI was dominating how businesses operate their efficiency and growth. 

To embrace this, she stated that businesses needed to upskill their workers and provide sufficient AI training. 

“AI offers workers and organisations an opportunity to boost productivity and efficiency at a rate we haven’t seen before, and this is something that needs to be harnessed, fuelled by AI skills training, so the workforce is equipped to master rapidly evolving technologies,” she said. 

A 2024 survey by research and analysis company GlobalData found that 27% of respondents stated that their businesses already had a high adoption rate of AI into their workflows. 

Scott Lewis, senior vice president at data management company Ataccama, stated that AI was integral to the future of businesses. 

“The most successful companies in the future will be those which take full advantage of AI tools, using them to automate necessary yet repetitive manual work, such as data cleansing and transformation to produce the good quality, governed data that is critical for trustworthy AI outcomes,” he said. 

By 2030, GlobalData forecasts that the total AI market will be worth $909bn worldwide.