Accounting services giant PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) recently published a survey report on Japanese businesses. The survey tested the mentality of top-tier working professionals in Japan and the USA about the involvement of AI in professional workforces.
Local news reports said that the survey for Japanese companies was conducted online in March 2020, and involved 320 professionals with roles of General Managers and above. It was in the Japanese language and the participants had to have knowledge of AI.
A survey with the same content was conducted in the USA in 2019. Upon comparison of these two surveys, it can be observed that Americans and Japanese have a significantly different opinion about the use of AI in professional spheres.
AI disruption in businesses
On the question “are businesses ready for AI disruption?”, 50% of Japanese respondents answered with a positive and affirmative response. On the other hand, a whopping 82% of Americans agreed that businesses are in fact, ready for AI disruption.
PwC Senior Advisor Yann Bonduelle highlighted the fact that the Japanese people who answered the survey were higher in age and higher in position than their American counterparts.
Overall, the comparison concluded that Americans are ready to welcome AI into the industry, whereas Japanese professionals had a skeptical stance.
Creative Destruction due to AI
The survey also placed the spotlight on ‘Creative Destruction’ that would happen due to the advent of AI. Creative Destruction, a term coined and used by many prominent economists like Karl Marx, Adam Smith, and Philip Schumpeter, refers to the Destruction of certain commodities due to the inculcation of something new and innovative. Simultaneously, the new entrant also brings new opportunities.
On the question of creative Destruction due to Artificial Intelligence in the next five years, 15% Japanese folk said “AI destroys one or more of the departments that are doing business”, and 10% said, “business development AI destroys one or more of the local markets in which they are doing””. Compared to these numbers, Americans responded with the same answers 35% and 32% respectively.
In conclusion, compared to Americans, Japanese professionals believe that AI will affect their businesses less negatively.
