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Strategic Responses to Technological Change: Evidence from ChatGPT and Upwork

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  • Shun Yiu
  • Rob Seamans
  • Manav Raj
  • Ted Liu

Abstract

AI technologies have the potential to affect labor market outcomes by both increasing worker productivity and reducing the demand for certain skills or tasks. Such changes may have important implications for the ways in which workers seek jobs and position themselves. In this project, we examine how freelancers change their strategic behavior on an online work platform following the launch of ChatGPT in December 2022. We present evidence suggesting that, in response to technological change, freelancers increase the concentration of job applications across specializations and differentiate themselves from both their past behavior and their peers. We show that such changes are shaped by the extent to which a freelancer experiences growth in demand or supply in the domains they specialize in. We document heterogeneity in this effect across freelancer characteristics and document how strategic repositioning can help mitigate the negative effects of technological change on freelancer performance on the platform.

Suggested Citation

  • Shun Yiu & Rob Seamans & Manav Raj & Ted Liu, 2024. "Strategic Responses to Technological Change: Evidence from ChatGPT and Upwork," Papers 2403.15262, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2024.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2403.15262
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    References listed on IDEAS

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