As the hype grows over generative artificial intelligence — emerging technology that can create text, images and code — many businesses are drawn to the potential for automating repetitive tasks and cutting costs as jobs are displaced. Research suggests that the technology will indeed shake up the workplace. One study published in March found that the introduction of large language models such as ChatGPT could result in some 80 per cent of the US workforce having at least 10 per cent of their tasks affected by the technology. Nearly a fifth of workers could have at least 50 per cent of their tasks affected, and the impact is likely to be felt far beyond tech roles, in more language-intensive areas such as law, advertising and finance. But some experts believe that the technology will not cause the jobs market to shrink but could instead be a boon for it — with new types of roles being created and the emergence of human-AI symbiosis. According to Stanford University professor and AI specialist Erik Brynjolfsson, in the past many advances and transformative technologies have tended to increase gaps in income inequality between more and less experienced workers, or college and non-college students. But this is not necessarily the case with generative AI. In a study conducted alongside other academics from the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, Brynjolfsson found that deploying generative AI in a customer service centre — to suggest the best answers that staff could give to customers — boosted employee productivity by 14 per cent. Less experienced or skilled staff benefited the most, with about a 30 per cent boost to productivity, he says, adding that this could typically be applied across many industries.
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