UCL School of Management is delighted to welcome Robert Seamans NYU STERN, to host a research seminar discussing ‘The Variable Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Labor: The Role of Complementary Skills and Technologies’.

Abstract

While artificial intelligence (AI) promises to spur economic growth, there is widespread concern that new technologies may replace human labor. We investigate the effect of AI on labor by studying how advances in specific functions of AI, such as image recognition, translation, or ability to play strategic games, affect different occupation-level abilities. We provide broad evidence that, on average, occupations impacted by AI experience a decline in wages but growth in employment. Strikingly, we find that the employment growth is largely driven by occupations that require a high-level of familiarity with software. Our findings suggest that the effects of AI on employment are not uniform across occupations and that access to complementary skills and technologies may play an important role in determining the impact of AI on occupations. An Appendix includes AI impact scores for 800+ occupations.