A new study led by an international research team, including Dr Fabian Braesemann from the Oxford Internet Institute, part of the University of Oxford, shows how Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are reshaping the workforce.
The research, published on 29 January 2025 in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, analyses over three million job postings on a global freelancing platform, making it the largest study of its kind.
Key insights
The large-scale study finds that the impact of Generative AI on the labour market is complex – creating opportunities in some areas while reducing demand in others:
“Generative AI is accelerating the transformation of the job market; a process that started decades ago with the introduction of computers to the workplace,” said Dr Braesemann. “It is the latest development of that digitalisation process: whilst the demand for partly substitutable skills such as writing and translating has reduced, we also see new jobs being created, such as roles creating chatbots or other machine learning related jobs.”
The study comprises a team of international researchers and industry experts exploring the impact of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT on the job market. The co-authors of this new study are Ole Teutloff and Johanna Einsiedler, from the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science, Dr Otto Kässi, from the ETLA Economic Research, Dr Fabian Braesemann, from the Oxford Internet Institute, Pamela Mishkin, and Assistant Professor R. Maria del Rio-Chanona, University College London and Complexity Science Hub Vienna.
“The widespread take up of Chat GPT and similar AI tools creates challenges for workers, but also presents opportunities to make processes more efficient and develop new products and services,” added first author of the study, Dr Ole Teutloff, Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science.
“Despite fears of mass job losses, this study suggests a more balanced reality. New technologies like ChatGPT are not just reshaping the demand for specific skills, but are also driving shifts in expertise,” concluded corresponding author Assistant Professor R. Maria del Rio-Chanona, University College London and Complexity Science Hub.
“For substitutable skills, demand shifts away from expert workers, while for complementary skills, demand may shift toward greater expertise. Recognizing these shifts is key to adapting to the new world of work.”
Graph shows estimated change in demand for substitutable and complementary skills relative to unaffected skills, following ChatGPT’s launch in November 2022.
Notes for Editors
This study focused on the freelance job market in the context of Generative AI. For more information and briefings, please contact: Sara Spinks / Veena McCoole, Media and Communications Manager. T: 01865 280527 E: press@oii.ox.ac.uk
About the research
The research was based on a large-scale data analysis of job postings from a leading online freelance platform using software analysis tool BERTopic and others during January 2021 and September 2023, covering around one year of data before and after the introduction of ChatGPT.
Funding information
Dr Otto Kässi’s work was funded by TT-säätiö (project title: “Tekoäly työelämässä – Miten käy Suomen kilpailukyvyn?”). Assistant Professor R. Maria del Rio-Chanona’s research was supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Dr Fabian Braesemann is supported by funding from the Oxford Internet Institute’s Research Programme on AI & Work, funded by the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung gGmbH. We are grateful for the support obtained by Open AI in providing access to the GPT API. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
About the Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department of the University of Oxford, dedicated to the social science of the Internet. Drawing from many different disciplines, the OII works to understand how individual and collective behaviour online shapes our social, economic and political world. Since its founding in 2001, research from the OII has had a significant impact on policy debate, formulation and implementation around the globe, as well as a secondary impact on people’s wellbeing, safety and understanding. Drawing on many different disciplines, the OII takes a combined approach to tackling society’s big questions, with the aim of positively shaping the development of the digital world for the public good.
About the University of Oxford
Oxford University has been placed number one in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the ninth year running, and number two in the QS World Rankings 2022. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer. Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe.
Former MSc Student
Ole explored public policy in times of digitalization. In particular, he wanted to look at how new data science methods could be used to improve policy-making. Before coming to Oxford Ole completed a degree in Political Science.
Social Data Science Researcher, University of Copenhagen ·
Johanna is a social data science researcher at the University of Copenhagen.
Former Researcher
Otto Kässi is a labour economist with a background in econometrics. His research concentrates on empirical study of online labour markets, as part of the iLabour project with Vili Lehdonvirta.
Researcher
Departmental Research Lecturer
Dr Fabian Braesemann is a Departmental Research Lecturer in AI & Work at the OII.
Faculty Associate, University College London
Maria is a Lecturer (Associate Professor) at University College London in the Computer Science department. Her research draws from network science, large language models.
