Concerns about artificial intelligence replacing human jobs are spreading, and for good reason. Roles in administration, customer service, and junior coding are already at risk, and the risk is growing.

How far will this trend go? Will reasonable concerns spread to the top of the corporate hierarchy—CEO, CFO, and other C-suite positions? The answer remains to be seen. But in the meantime, according to the results of a new survey, if it does happen, many people might not shed a tear.

The survey shows this sentiment is particularly pronounced among men—nearly half (45.5%) of male respondents said AI "should" replace such executives. The data comes from a poll of 2,180 American adults conducted by luxury watch retailer Watch Chest. Watch Chest frequently tracks trends related to executive culture, career achievement, and American views on status, leadership, and wealth.

Only about half that proportion of women (25.2%) held the same view, but this still represents a significant portion of Americans who believe machines are better at running companies than humans.

"The findings suggest that women may be more skeptical of removing human judgment from high-stakes leadership decisions, especially when those decisions involve employment, ethics, workplace culture, employee well-being, privacy, and accountability," Watch Chest said in a press release.

The company also noted that organizations positioning AI as a replacement for human leadership may risk alienating employees, customers, and stakeholders—people who are already concerned that workplace decisions are becoming increasingly detached, automated, and difficult to challenge.

The study also found that higher-income employees were more inclined to support replacing executives with AI, except for those earning at least $200,000 annually.

The highest level of support (54.6%) came from respondents earning between $150,000 and $199,999. One possible explanation Watch Chest offered is workplace exposure: higher earners are more likely to hold positions where AI is already discussed as a tool for productivity and strategy.

"They may be more familiar with performance dashboards, predictive models, workflow automation, and data-driven decision-making," Watch Chest wrote. "For this group, AI entering the leadership tier might sound less like science fiction and more like an accelerated version of systems already in use in the workplace."

The company did not offer an explanation for why support for replacing executives declined among the group earning over $200,000, although most C-suite executives clearly fall into that income bracket and are likely not in favor of their own replacement.

The survey results also showed notable regional differences across the United States: the West Coast had the highest support at 42.5%; the Northeast followed at 37.9%; the South at 29.8%; and the Midwest had the lowest at just 18.1%.