Organizations large and small are focusing on how to integrate some level of Generative AI into their work. This has triggered a wide range of reactions. Some (including high-profile insiders) warn of potential doom. Others worry about more-basic matters: their jobs.

All of the above is reflected in the results of a new global survey conducted by a Boston Consulting Group team from October 6-30. The survey team (Katherine Rivet, Gabrielle Novacek, Jean Lee, Gretchen May, Hillary Wool and Christopher Gentile) asked more than 11,000 employees from the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and India—ranging from executives and senior managers to clerical workers—how they feel about the use of Generative AI at work. Some very interesting findings emerged:

1. Those who use artificial intelligence and/or Generative AI technology at work trust it far more than those who don’t.

Among the non-management respondents who do not yet use Generative AI at work, only 12% agreed with the statement, “I trust AI/Generative AI.” Among non-management users of AI/Generative AI the percentage expressing trust in the technology was three times higher (37%).

For senior managers and executives, the ratios were similar, with 21% of the senior managers and 22% of executives who don’t use AI/GenAI technology expressing trust and 64% and 71%, respectively, of AI/GenAI users expressing trust—meaning that more-senior organizational leaders, AI users and non-users alike, are far-more trusting of the technology than lower-level employees.

One might infer from this that the best way to manage the integration of AI and Generative AI into an organization is, simply, to get more people to use it. Cue up the AI/GenAI tutorials, upskilling clinics and academies, right?

Well … not so fast. Familiarity, in this case, breeds anxiety.