Xiang Hui is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Washington University Olin Business School. He studies the design of trust mechanisms and the economics of technology.
Website: https://www.xiang-hui.org/
Paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4527336
Abstract: Generative Artificial
Intelligence (AI) holds the potential to either complement knowledge workers by
increasing their productivity or substitute them entirely. We examine the
short-term effects of the recent release of the large language model (LLM), ChatGPT,
on the employment outcomes of freelancers on a large online platform. We find
that freelancers in highly affected occupations suffer from the introduction of
generative AI, experiencing reductions in both em ployment and earnings. We
find similar effects studying the release of other image-based, gener ative AI
models. Exploring the heterogeneity by freelancers’ employment history, we do not find evidence that high-quality service, measured
by their past performance and employment, moder ates the adverse effects on
employment. In fact, we find suggestive evidence that top freelancers are
disproportionately affected by AI. These results suggest that in the short term
generative AI reduces overall demand for knowledge workers of all types, and
may have the potential to narrow gaps among workers.
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