Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/305518 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 11276
Publisher: 
CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
This paper studies the impact of Generative AI technologies on the demand for online freelancers using a large dataset from a leading global freelancing platform. We identify the types of jobs that are more affected by Generative AI and quantify the magnitude of the heterogeneous impact. Our findings indicate a 21% decrease in the number of job posts for automation-prone jobs related to writing and coding, compared to jobs requiring manual-intensive skills, within eight months after the introduction of ChatGPT. We show that the reduction in the number of job posts increases competition among freelancers while the remaining automation-prone jobs are of greater complexity and offer higher pay. We also find that the introduction of Image-generating AI technologies led to a 17% decrease in the number of job posts related to image creation. We use Google Trends to show that the more pronounced decline in the demand for freelancers within automation-prone jobs correlates with their higher public awareness of ChatGPT’s substitutability.
Subjects: 
generative AI
large language models
ChatGPT
digital freelancing platforms
JEL: 
O33
E24
J21
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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