The more commercialized your job is, the more likely AI can do it – lessons from online freelancing

Not long ago, if you needed to polish a speech, translate a document, or design a logo, you probably would have hired a freelancer online. Millions of people have done exactly that. They went to platforms like Fiverr and Upwork and paid someone (perhaps on the other side of the world) to do the work.

In 2023, the number of online gig workers worldwide is estimated to be between 154 and 435 million. This means they could make up up to 12.5% ​​of the global workforce.

However, these days many people do something different. You open ChatGPT. Generative AI now acts as an editor, translator, illustrator and research assistant all in one. It can summarize a report, write social media posts, create a presentation, or create a simple logo in seconds for virtually free.

Then what happened to the freelancers who used to do this work?

AI has long been discussed as a threat to jobs and livelihoods. But…