Research by OpenAI on over 900 professions shows that the impact of AI on the labor market is not as pessimistic as imagined. Although high-risk positions such as data entry, bookkeeping, and customer service account for about 18%, the tasks handled by AI for these workers are three times those of other professions, and the unemployment growth rate is lower than that of low-risk groups. The reason lies in consumer elasticity: after AI reduces output costs, related service demand often grows rapidly, offsetting layoffs. Occupations are divided into four categories: 46% outside of high risk are almost unaffected, 24% may shrink but require human-led management, and 12% expand due to AI proliferation. Currently, less than a quarter of high-risk groups are actually utilizing AI capabilities.

MeNews

2026-05-21 12:04:33

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ME News Report, April 17 (UTC+8), according to Beating Monitoring, a study by OpenAI on over 900 occupations shows that the disruption caused by AI in the labor market may not be as tragic as the public expects. The report points out that although professions such as data entry, bookkeeping, and customer service face extremely high automation risks (about 18% of total employment), workers in these fields are already using AI to handle approximately three times the workload of other occupations, and the unemployment rate is rising at a slower pace than low-risk professions. This counterintuitive phenomenon stems from "consumer elasticity": when AI makes the output of a task (such as coding) cheaper and faster, the overall demand for that service often increases exponentially, offsetting the reduction in staffing caused by efficiency gains. The report classifies occupations into four categories: aside from the high-risk group mentioned above, 46% of jobs (such as teachers and domestic workers) are minimally affected; 24% of roles may see a reduction in scale but still require human-led oversight; while 12% of occupations (such as software development) will experience job expansion due to AI proliferation. Currently, workers in high-risk professions have utilized less than a quarter of AI's theoretical capabilities. (Source: BlockBeats)

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GateUser-1bc81bb2

· 6h ago

This research has left a way out for workers, but they need to proactively learn the tools.

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GateUser-f4ae43e9

· 8h ago

High-risk positions are actually more eager to embrace AI, and this contrast is quite interesting.

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RetroKeysAndPositions

· 8h ago

46% is barely affected, so what about the remaining 54%? Think carefully.

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NeonStreetReflections

· 8h ago

Less than a quarter utilization rate indicates the tool hasn't been fully exploited yet.

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MorandiLily

· 8h ago

The research sample size is large enough, but its implementation in specific industries still depends on execution.

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SummerCoast

· 8h ago

Using AI to triple productivity but with a lower unemployment growth rate shows that human-machine collaboration is the correct approach.

View OriginalReply0

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OpenAI Employment Research Report: AI May Increase Job Opportunities Rather Than Cause a Wave of Unemployment

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