Archived: Research: How Gen AI Is Already Impacting the Labor Market

This is a simplified archive of the page at https://hbr.org/2024/11/research-how-gen-ai-is-already-impacting-the-labor-market

Use this page embed on your own site:

Many have wondered about — and feared — the impact that gen AI will have on labor markets. Some compare it to past innovations, like robots, whose effects have been relatively modest, while others have forecasted that its impacts will be more long-ranging, given gen AI’s fundamental ability to improve itself over time. New research analyzed over a million job posts for online gig workers to see what affect the introduction of tools like ChatGPT and image-generating AI have already had on the quantity of posts, job requirements, and pay of online workers — and which fields and professions have been the most impacted. The researchers offer insight into the challenges and potential opportunities of these shifting markets.

AI and machine learning, Generative AI, Automation, Web-based technologies, LaborReadArchived

A study of over 1 million job listings posted before and after the introduction of major gen AI tools reveals the effect they’re having on gig workers.

November 11, 2024

David Malan/Getty Images

Many have wondered about — and feared — the impact that gen AI will have on labor markets. Some compare it to past innovations, like robots, whose effects have been relatively modest, while others have forecasted that its impacts will be more long-ranging, given gen AI’s fundamental ability to improve itself over time. New research analyzed over a million job posts for online gig workers to see what affect the introduction of tools like ChatGPT and image-generating AI have already had on the quantity of posts, job requirements, and pay of online workers — and which fields and professions have been the most impacted. The researchers offer insight into the challenges and potential opportunities of these shifting markets.

In the early 2000s, when Amazon introduced its Kiva robots to automate warehouse operations, employees feared for their jobs as machines began taking over tasks previously performed by humans. Today, advances in gen AI and natural language processing, such as ChatGPT, are transforming many industries and raising similar concerns. However, unlike past automation technologies, gen AI has the unique potential to impact all job sectors, particularly given its fundamental ability to improve its capabilities over time — which promises to affect the workforce in ways that go beyond simple job replacement.

  • Ozge Demirci is an Assistant Professor at Imperial College London Business School. Her research focuses on the economics of digitization and how emerging technologies affect the behaviors of consumers and businesses.

  • Jonas Hannane is currently a Ph.D. candidate at DIW Berlin and the Berlin School of Economics via TU Berlin. His research interests relate to digital economics and artificial intelligence technologies, with a particular focus on online labor markets. Before joining the BSoE PhD program in 2019, he worked in the competition practice of an economic consulting company.

  • Xinrong Zhu is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Imperial College London Business School, specializing in quantitative marketing, retail analytics, and the causal impact of technology changes, marketing activities and politics on consumer behavior.