Generative AI: The white-collar frenemy
The infiltration of AI into white-collar jobs has become a cause for concern among many individuals. A recent study conducted by US researchers has shed light on this issue, revealing some intriguing findings. It appears that the introduction of #ChatGPT has resulted in a significant decline in job opportunities and earnings for copywriters and graphic designers on popular online freelancing platforms. This implies that generative AI is not only taking over their tasks but also devaluing their work.
Interestingly, the study discovered that even the most skilled freelancers, who previously earned the highest income and completed the most projects, were not exempt from these negative effects. In fact, they faced even worse outcomes, indicating that superior skills do not guarantee protection against job loss or decreased earnings.
However, it is important to note that this study specifically focuses on a particular group of individuals.
On the other hand, #employees across the skills distribution spectrum experienced benefits, with the greatest performance gains observed among the less highly skilled workforce. This can be attributed to the fact that large language models excel at regurgitating and summarizing existing human knowledge available in the public domain. The closer one’s own knowledge is to that limit, the smaller the advantage gained from utilizing these models.
