Digital Professionals: AI Threatens Critical Thinking by 2026

As part of its annual survey for 2026, BDM, in collaboration with the consulting and training firm SocIAty, surveyed 807 professionals in the digital sector to understand their perception of artificial intelligence. This study aims to provide an overview of preferred tools, professional uses, and the potential impact of AI on jobs. This article focuses on the perceived risks associated with generative AI as reported by respondents. Is concern widespread? What are the dangers that worry them the most? And how do professionals envision the future of their work with this technology? Here’s an overview.

The Level of Concern Stabilizes

In 2025, concern among digital professionals had significantly increased, with nearly 90% of respondents expressing worries related to AI, up from 83% the previous year. In 2026, this figure appears to have stabilized, reaching around 89.5%, a level similar to that of the previous year.

When examining the details by profession, it appears that executives are the least concerned, with 16.4% of them seeing no risks associated with AI, followed by commerce professionals. The latter also seem to be the least advanced in their use of AI, as shown by a previous study on the perception of AI in business.

The professionals who are least worried seem to be those for whom the use of AI has the least impact on their daily lives. In contrast, writers (94%), communicators (93%), and educators (93%) form the trio of the most anxious.

Loss of Critical Thinking and Personal Data: The Two Major Fears of Digital Professionals

The loss of autonomy and critical thinking is the primary concern among respondents, cited by nearly half of them (48%). Developers and writers appear particularly worried about this prospect, with nearly 6 out of 10 respondents in these professions mentioning it.

In second place, data privacy is another major source of concern, mentioned by 42.2% of respondents, a figure stable compared to 2025. This concern is particularly strong among sales professionals, who often handle sensitive client data, with 65% of them citing it.

AI: The 10 Most Cited Fears by the Panel

• Loss of autonomy and critical thinking (47.8% of respondents)
• Data privacy (42.2%)
• Decline in information quality (33.2%)
• Malicious use (28.1%)
• Technological dependency (25.5%)
• Job displacement (21.7%)
• Copyright infringement (21.2%)
• Ethical and moral issues (18.1%)
• Impact on education (17%)
• Cybersecurity issues (15.1%)

The loss of autonomy and critical thinking saw the most significant increase over the year, rising by 8 points compared to the previous year, where it was in second place. In contrast, concerns regarding copyright infringement have decreased, dropping from fifth place in 2025 with nearly 30% of respondents worried to seventh place, cited by only 21% of respondents.

AI at Work: Enthusiasm Dims

Although the majority of digital professionals remain optimistic about the impact of generative AI on their work, with 55.8% anticipating a positive effect, this figure marks a decline from previous years, where enthusiasm reached 65% in 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, the proportion of pessimists is steadily increasing, rising from 15.6% in 2024 to 18% in 2025, and reaching 24.9% in 2026.

Executives remain the most confident, with 78% of them expecting a positive impact, compared to only 8% anticipating a negative impact. Project management professionals (68%) and social media professionals (60%) also display marked optimism.

Conversely, writers are the only group to shift into skepticism, with 46% expecting a negative impact, compared to 40% anticipating a positive impact. Communicators (36% negative) and acquisition professionals (32%) complete this less optimistic trio. The professions most exposed to direct substitution by generative tools are also those that view the future with the most reservations.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online by BDM from April 24 to May 29, 2026, among 807 digital professionals working in the following fields: communication, marketing, education, project management, development, general management, design, social media, writing, commerce, and SEO/SEA acquisition.