Here are how many SC workers fear they won’t be protected from AI replacement, new report says

There’s no doubt Artificial Intelligence has taken over headlines and been one of, if not the most, controversial technological advancements of the modern era.

While it’s making strides in healthcare, agriculture and even scientific discovery, there is a worrisome trend that was noticed by a recent nationwide survey from Careerminds, a global, technologically-based HR services provider.

The study, which is based on a survey of over 3,000 workers across the nation, shows that one-third of South Carolinians have no confidence that their employers will protect them from AI replacement.

Even if workers don’t think their job would get taken by AI, the vast majority say they would like the federal government to step in with a law explicitly protecting employees from being replaced by AI.

“Most people understand that AI is going to play a bigger role at work,” said Amanda Augustine, a resident career expert for Careerminds. “What they really want is clarity about how it’s being used, some guardrails around the decisions that affect their careers, and a fair chance to retrain if their role starts to change.”

Many people also believe that an AI shift might already be happening in their workplace.

In fact, 64% say they suspect AI has influenced a decision about their job, whether it’s hiring, promotion, scheduling or performance evaluation.

These are the key details on what people are most worried about:

Biggest AI workplace worries

Other concerns people have of AI use in the workplace are the following:

• 32% fear being quietly replaced by AI
• 30% worry about AI monitoring every minute of their work
• 26% worry AI could unfairly screen out their job application
• 12% are concerned about AI making decisions in performance reviews
• 28% believe it’s very likely they will be replaced by AI in the next five years

While the majority of SC employees would like to see a federal law in place that would protect workers from AI replacement, many other states have much higher percentages of people who would like to see it happen.

These are the states that have the lowest percentage of workers who believe the U.S. should introduce a federal law to protect workers:

• #1. Hawaii - 58% of workers approve a federal law
• #2. Minnesota - 67% of workers approve a federal law
• #3. Kansas - 70% of workers approve a federal law
• #4. South Carolina - 71% of workers approve a federal law
• #5/6. Louisiana - 72% of workers approve a federal law
• #5/6. Oklahoma - 72% of workers approve a federal law

According to the study, if a federal “AI Worker Bill of Rights” existed, workers believe these protections matters most:

• Human review of all major decisions- 40%
• Transparency about AI use - 30%
• Guaranteed retraining options - 10%
• Guaranteed compensation or notice before any AI-driven replacement - 10%
• Limits on AI surveillance, such as restrictions on employers using AI tools to constantly monitor workers’ activity, communications or performance - 10%

This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here are how many SC workers fear they won’t be protected from AI replacement, new report says."