75% of Dutch adults expect AI to cause job losses, survey shows

Nearly three-quarters of adults in the Netherlands believe artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to job losses, while a large majority fear that it will erode workers' knowledge and skills, according to a new survey by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), published on Wednesday.

CBS said it surveyed Dutch adults on their perceptions of AI, including its potential impact on employment. Around 75% of respondents believed that AI will eliminate jobs, while nearly half argued that it will make certain occupations less interesting.

"Exactly which tasks could be taken over isn't entirely clear yet," Luuk Hovius of CBS was quoted by Dutch news broadcaster NOS as saying.

"You could think of administrative roles, but also some care tasks that could be taken over by robots. Or consider self-driving cars that could assist parcel delivery drivers. That's very difficult to predict, because we can't see how the technology will evolve."

Beyond employment losses, 64% of respondents said AI could result in a decline in employees' knowledge and skills.

Hovius noted that routine tasks such as typing, writing, computing, and coding could increasingly be delegated to AI systems.

"You don't have to do that coding yourself; you can assign it to AI," he said, warning that reliance on such tools could reduce hands-on expertise over time.

The survey also found that more than three-quarters of adults are concerned about AI's broader societal impact. However, fewer than half believe the technology will help address structural challenges such as labor shortages or low productivity.