Pluralsight research finds that 79 percent of tech workers pretend to know more about AI than they really do

A new study from Draper-based technology workforce development company Pluralsight finds that a lot of executives — and even IT experts — pretend to know more about AI than they actually do.

Pluralsight’s recently released “AI Skills Report” explores the AI landscape and its impact on talent by examining the perspectives of executives and IT practitioners. This year’s report, based on a survey of 1,200 technology decision-makers and practitioners in the United States and the United Kingdom, revealed that an overwhelming majority of executives and tech workers are often faking their familiarity with the complexities of AI. In fact, 79 percent admitted to the deception.

The industry is also rife with AI paradoxes. Despite 95 percent of tech executives citing AI skills as crucial for ensuring job security, 61 percent of tech workers said that using generative AI tools for work is seen as “lazy” at their company.

“In addition to the systemic misrepresentation of AI knowledge, Pluralsight also found that AI is complicating perceptions about how work is getting done,” said Chris McClellen, chief product and technology officer at Pluralsight. “Fears about AI supplanting jobs is becoming the new norm and employees are quietly worried that using AI in their daily routine looks lazy. In this paradigm, organizations need to empower their workforce with AI training to truly drive innovation, enhance productivity and stay competitive in the evolving digital landscape.”

Employees and executives alike aren’t always upfront about their AI knowledge. However, the boss might be telling the tallest tales: C-suite executives admit to exaggerating even more (a whopping 91 percent) by pretending to have AI knowledge they don’t possess.

To combat employee insecurities over their AI knowledge, over half of companies are offering dedicated training to upskill staff in AI. That means they’re pretending for now, but it won’t be long before they’re truly knowledgeable on the subject.

Whether among executives or tech professionals, the fear of jobs being replaced by AI runs deep. Ninety percent of workers said that losing their roles to AI was at least somewhat likely. People are more afraid of being replaced by AI than they were a year ago when Pluralsight released its 2024 AI Skills Report, with 19 percent more respondents indicating that they felt it was “very likely” their role could be replaced by AI in the 2025 report.

Despite the fact that nearly half of organizations (49 percent) have actually added AI-related jobs, companies are still developing five-year plans that include AI-driven staff reductions. By 2030, workers should expect the most impact in departments that handle analytics, content creation, billing, marketing and sales.

Amid fears about being replaced by AI, there is an almost unanimous (95 percent) agreement among tech executives that having AI skills is the “best way” to ensure job security. This is supported by the fact that 50 percent of employers list AI skills as “highly preferred” when looking for talent, while 20 percent list them as “mandatory.”

Additionally, 84 percent of companies said they would likely replace or outsource talent to support AI initiatives when they lack internal talent.

Pluralsight provides learning platforms dedicated to accelerating the technology skills and capabilities of the tech workforce. Thousands of companies, government organizations and individuals around the world use Pluralsight Skills to support technology skill development in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, software development and machine learning.