Project SyndicateProject Syndicate

The promise and peril of generative AI

By Diane Coyle

10 Apr 2023 · 3 min read

Editor's Note

Generative AI has leapt ahead so quickly during the past few months, creating a new set of challenges for everyone. In this Project Syndicate story, I explore how it will affect the global economy.

Ever since OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot last year, a growing number of analysts have been predicting that generative artificial intelligence will displace millions of workers and cause widespread economic upheaval. But how exactly will generative AI affect the global economy?

Recent estimates provide an indication of the looming labor-market disruption. Goldman Sachs economists, for example, anticipate that as many as 300 million full-time jobs could be automated as a result of the latest AI breakthroughs and that two-thirds of workers in Europe and the United States could be exposed to AI-based automation. A working paper by researchers at OpenAI finds that roughly 80% of the US workforce could see at least some of their tasks automated by the introduction of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. And some law firms and marketers have already begun to use generative AI tools.

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