Seminar Demand for Skills in the Age of Generative AI

Abstract

How does the diffusion of generative AI affect the type of skills demanded by employers? We address this question using detailed information on the near-universe of online job postings in Italy. Drawing on descriptions of thousands of skills, we construct and validate a novel classification that categorizes skills by their exposure to generative AI at the time of ChatGPT's launch in November 2022. Exploiting the launch as a quasi-experimental shock, we estimate event-study and difference-in-differences specifications in a within-occupation design---comparing the posting share of high- and low-exposure skills within the same occupation before and after the launch. Our preliminary results suggest that employers gradually reduce demand for AI-exposed skills, consistent with a reallocation of labor towards tasks where humans retain a comparative advantage.