Generative AI and the Workforce: What Are the Risks?
29 Pages Posted: 3 Oct 2023
Date Written: September 12, 2023
Abstract
The unprecedented and rapid diffusion of generative AI represents a major disruption for the labour market, bringing new opportunities and risks within the same transformation. Our paper addresses two significant questions: What are the occupations exposed to generative AI in Australia? What are the risks associated with the diffusion of generative AI within occupations?
This paper introduces a novel methodology to quantify, map, and analyse workers’ exposure to generative AI (GenAI) risks with a task-based approach. By combining the Australian Labour Force Survey, the Australian Skills Classification, and synthetic data, we provide the first evidence-based analysis of the occupational context of risks associated with workers’ use of generative AI.
The exposure of the Australian workforce to GenAI is substantial with 80% of workers allocating 20% of their time to tasks exposed to Large Language Models (LLMs). LLM use also changes the quality of jobs by exposing workers to new risks, including potential privacy risks in 12% of tasks, cybersecurity in 14%, professional standards breaches in 14%, unethical bias in 14%, misinformation and manipulation in 11%, safety and physical harm in 26%, liability and accountability in 26%, and intellectual property risks in 10%. These mapping demonstrates large potential for productivity gains, for job displacements, and for the transformation of the quality of jobs that could occur with the diffusion of GenAI.
Keywords: Generative AI, AI risks, Australian labour market, Synthetic data
JEL Classification: J24, O33, O56
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