AI talks @ ETUI: Large language models, small labor market effects, 09/09, 14h CEST, Zoom
European Trade Union Institute
Boulevard du Jardin Botanique 20
Bruxelles, 1000
Belgium
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union.
ETUI, AISBL (Association internationale sans but lucratif) – International Nonprofit Association.
AI Talks @ ETUI is a series of inspiring (online) conversations which focus on the different dimensions of AI - ethical, social, environmental, legal, technological - and their impact on the world of work.
Top experts from academia, civil society and online rights organizations, among others, will share their insights and knowledge about artificial intelligence, building a 360° view of how AI is disrupting and reshaping the world we live in.
Guest speaker: Anders Humlum, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
The speaker will present recent research examining the early labor market impacts of AI chatbots using two large-scale adoption surveys of 11 exposed occupations, linked to Danish administrative data. Chatbots are now widespread: most employers encourage use, many deploy enterprise solutions, and training is common. These initiatives boost adoption, narrow gender gaps, and create new tasks. Yet, impacts on earnings and recorded hours remain minimal. Using difference-in-differences, the authors estimate precise null effects at both the individual and workplace levels, with confidence intervals ruling out effects above 1%. While adoption is associated with occupational switching and task restructuring, these shifts do not result in net changes to hours or earnings. Modest productivity gains (3% time savings) and the emergence of integration and oversight tasks help explain these muted effects. The findings challenge narratives of imminent disruption from Generative AI, highlighting instead the slow burn of productivity J-curves.
Moderator: Aida Ponce Del Castillo, Senior researcher @ ETUI
If you want to learn more about AI and its impacts on labour, join in by registering here
https://crm.etui.org/form/ai-talks-etui-09092025