Augmented Freelancers: How freelancing marketplaces can win with Generative AI

Upwork's top 10 demanded skills demonstrates a significant overlap with jobs that Generative AI would impact. As a buyer, I would want comfort that my freelance team member has utilized all available AI abilities when providing deliverables. But right now, access to humans and access to AI is siloed and opaque.

My fear: Generative AI could lead to drastic effort compression impacting income generation of freelancers.

So, (of course) I posed this question to ChatGPT: Could you take sample project and measure how much time Generative AI would save compared to doing it without assistance? Would the result be greater speed at lower cost?

ChatGPT defined a sample project: Conducting a literature review on the impact of Generative AI on the pricing of software development projects. The scope of the literature review is to cover the period from 2010 to 2021, and the target sources are academic articles, industry reports, and case studies.

As expected, I asked the follow up question: For this project, with the scope you described above, please estimate the savings quantitatively using Generative AI compared to an average skilled researcher.

Here is ChatGPT response: Assuming that an average skilled researcher can conduct a literature review of the scope you described in approximately 100 hours, and that the use of Generative AI tools could reduce the time required by 70%, the estimated time savings using Generative AI would be:

100 hours x 0.70 = 70 hours

So, the estimated time savings using Generative AI for this project would be approximately 70 hours or 70% savings.

It's important to note that this is a rough estimate, and the actual time savings could be higher or lower depending on the specific circumstances of the project. Additionally, it's worth considering that while Generative AI tools can automate many aspects of the literature review process, there may be some aspects that still require human input and analysis, such as the interpretation of results and the identification of gaps in the literature

Sourced from: ChatGPT. ChatGPT was not the author of the underlying data.?

So here are the key questions:?

1. Will the cost of generating that report proportionally reduce by 70% accounting for a $20 per month cost of ChatGPT?
2. And, I am paying the freelancer only 30% of the fee for his/her actual effort??
3. As someone seeking work, what is the role of the marketplace in ensuring that the efficiencies from Generative AI are a part of their value proposition to me??

Here is my recommendation as a buyer:?

An integrated workflow where AI and freelancing work together enabled by the marketplaces. Here are my guiding principles:??

• Build hybrid models: Leverage the data on the marketplace and train outcome specific transformer models for the most common outcomes
• Integrate the siloes: Help the buyers with proactive and transparent pricing on where Generative AI could support them and where it cannot and should not.?
• Add new hybrid revenue models: Monetize the first draft with the best transformer model in the marketplace with a freelancer adding human context, quality, creative thinking, and nuances.?
• Train talent: Take leadership in training the most impacted and skilled freelancers by giving them access to the best Generative AI models so that they learn to lead in the world of AI vs. compete with it. The marketplace creates private hubs for freelancers to use the best Generative AI models. This differentiates the marketplace with its clients and freelancers as market leading and transparent

Imagine a workflow:?

The buyer posts a project for same literature review on the freelance marketplace?The platform understands the outcome expected and shows the following options:?

1. Generative AI mediated: The marketplace chooses the right transformer model and estimates the parts of the outcome that could be accelerated by Generative AI
2. Human only: The current state which allows the buyer to pick a freelancer and pay them for time or outcomes. Let the freelancers compete on price and the freelancers that use Generative AI efficiently win on price
3. If the buyer chooses the Generative AI mediated option: The marketplace then allows the buyer to choose the freelancers among the ones that are most competent with Generative AI. The platform can monetize the Generative AI output, or get an incremental fee for bringing in Generative AI into the workflow
4. Hybrid delivery: Freelancers use AI on the marketplace to deliver outcomes to the client. Everybody is happy.??

In our fast-evolving economy, freelance marketplaces act as essential hubs for getting work done. Generative AI and human talent are quickly becoming intertwined; no longer must buyers choose one over the other to accomplish their tasks.?So, The "lance" in freelance could truly be GenerativeAI.

P.S. A late history lesson in closing: The word "freelance" originated during the Middle Ages, knights who were not in the service of a particular lord or ruler were known as "free lances". These knights were essentially independent contractors who sold their services to the highest bidder. Now, these knights have a new tool/ lance to be more successful.