Human insight still irreplaceable for most, Linkedin research on workplace AI suggests

New research from professional social media site LinkedIn has found a tension between optimism and frustration when it comes to using artificial intelligence at work, with 46 per cent of those surveyed feeling like learning new AI tools is taking on another job, 51 per cent believing they aren’t realising the potential of AI, though 57 per cent optimistic about it improving daily work life.

Eighty-two per cent of respondents believed trusted human insight is irreplaceable, even as AI tools become more advanced. 28 per cent felt embarrassed about their level of understanding, and 32 per cent felt nervous to talk about it.

Brendan Wong, Career Expert at LinkedIn Australia, said: “Balancing day-to-day responsibilities with the need to quickly build AI skills isn’t easy, but Australians are turning that pressure into progress.

“Through AI, everyone has access to information and it’s becoming a commodity. It’s the guidance of colleagues and mentors that helps people make confident decisions.”

The release said that professionals were still largely relying on real people for important decisions.

Tools tools “like ChatGPT or Copilot” were “increasingly used for insights and to bolster productivity, they haven’t replaced human judgment.” (Microsoft is an investor in ChatGPT, and owns both Copilot and Linkedin.)

For example, on decisions “like asking for a pay rise or deciding whether to switch industries” only 25 per cent would trust such tools. The top three sources of advice were current colleagues (51 per cent), friends and family (44 per cent) and a manager (35 per cent.)

Linkedin said the figures came from a mix of LinkedIn platform conversations analysed between July 1, 2024 and June 29, 2025, as well as the company’s quarterly Executive Confidence Index (ECI) of about 5,000 LinkedIn members, plus data compiled by Censuswide of 19,268 respondents in July across the UK, Australia, France, Germany, India, USA, Italy, Spain, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Netherlands and Brazil.

Picture: credit Jernej Furman (CC BY 2.0)