Artificial intelligence (AI) in the workforce is paving a new reality for many but recent studies show that the impact of AI will present new changes for two groups: Asian Americans and women. Among them being the most exposed to AI, they are also the most vulnerable to displacement and/or assistance by AI technology, according to research. 

Earlier this month, the Pew Research Center released a study to examine the demographic of U.S. workers and their exposure to AI usage at the workplace and their potential risk of being replaced or assisted by AI systems. Research revealed that Asian American workers have the highest share of workers regularly exposed to AI at 24 percent, followed by 20 percent of white people, 15 percent of Black people, and 13 percent of Latinx people. “High/low exposure” is a term in the study used to define work activities that an AI can perform or assist within the job. Unlike automated physical tasks, AI technologies demonstrate functions beyond factory work but display strengths in performing cognitive-based tasks. 

“It could help or harm. We are uncertain about what the future holds,” Rakesh Kochlar, Pew senior researcher and author of the study told NBC News. 

Kochlar’s disaggregated data of workers present unique trends that could alter an industry’s work activities more than others. High-exposure professions like technical writing, tax preparation, and web development are in closer proximity to AI-driven tasks, whereas low-exposure professions like child care, food and hospitality, and firefighters are distant from the presence of AI. “More educated workers who are engaged in jobs requiring more analytical and cognitive skills,” he said in an episode with “Rolli’s Experts Explain Everything” podcast. “They are more exposed to AI and these workers include Asian and white workers who are typically more likely to be college educated than Hispanic and Black workers.” Asian Americans are also more likely than average to work in professional and technical occupations, leaving their Black, Latinx, and Pacific Islander counterparts to work in least exposed, physically demanding jobs by larger margins than Asian Americans.

There’s also a significant gap between men and women impacted by AI exposure, according to the study. 21 percent of women are more likely to be exposed to AI in their jobs compared to 17 percent of men. Kochlar says it’s due to the differing tradesmen and women tend to work. “Women are much less likely to be employed in construction than men and are much more likely to be employed in healthcare or education compared with men,” he noted. . “So we see women have actually more exposure than men at the moment.” Although the study echoes common fears of job loss and replacement by AI technology, the study points out that the workers who are likely to see the most exposure to AI don’t feel their job is at risk. About one-third of U.S. workers in the most exposed industry, information and technology, said that AI will help them more than harm them personally. Only eleven percent say the opposite, according to the survey. 

A study earlier this year by Goldman Sach revealed how generative AI tools like Chat GPT could impact 300 million jobs worldwide, a disruption mainly seen in white-collar jobs. However, blue-collar jobs are also sitting in a unique predicament being affected by automation and AI. 

Another study released in July showed how different labor markets in China are influenced by AI and automation. Their results showed that 54 percent of jobs in China would be substituted for AI and production and transport equipment workers are the most susceptible to being replaced. 

Khánh Vũ, CEO and executive director of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, expresses his uncertainty about AI exposure among Asian Americans, especially in low-income communities. 

“It doesn’t surprise me that it’s going to impact Asians,” he told NBC News. “We’re just on the cusp of this revolution. This is the first wave to impact.”