Gen AI: changing jobs, replacing them or both?

Since its inception, much of the conversation around Gen AI’s impact on the job market has been speculative. Finally, we’re beginning to see academic studies grounded in empirical data, allowing us to start making own informed views.

A recent study from imperial college (published by Harvard Business Review) tracked real changes in the freelance labour market post the introduction of Gen AI solutions with sobering numbers:

• Automation-prone roles in writing, software development, and graphic design are seeing notable declines in demand (30%, 20%, and 17% respectively) after the introduction of Gen AI tools like ChatGPT and image-generation technologies.
• Increased competition in freelance markets, as fewer roles lead to more freelancers bidding for limited opportunities.
• Job complexity rising as employers demand broader skill sets from freelancers in automation-affected sectors, and they’re paying more for these roles, which adds pressure on freelancers to continuously upskill.

This is just one early study—and hopefully the first of many objective, impartial analyses to come. We need to quickly understand the real impact of Gen AI on people’s livelihoods so we can adapt thoughtfully as findings (negative or positive) evolve.

With the future of Gen AI concentrated in the hands of a few investors and even fewer tech giants, is it right to put blind trust in them to do what’s best for society? It may well be, but is it a risk you are willing to take?