.webp)
AI adoption in the workplace spreads quickly, but unevenly
MAIN ARTICLE
General-purpose AI has spread rapidly but unevenly across countries, sectors, and occupations, disproportionately benefiting high-income cognitive workers and leaving lower earners with fewer gains, according to the International AI Safety Report 2026.
The report is a comprehensive review of the latest scientific research on the capabilities and risks of general-purpose AI systems.
It noted that general-purpose AI systems can automate or help with tasks that are relevant to many jobs worldwide, but predicting the labour-market impact is difficult.
Approximately 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% in emerging economies are exposed to general-purpose AI, but the impact of this will depend on how AI capabilities develop, how quickly workers and firms adopt AI, and how institutions respond, the report noted.
In the US, general-purpose AI has diffused faster than earlier technologies such as the internet, the report added.
Globally, adoption rates ranged from over 50% in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore to under 10% in many lower-income economies. Even within individual countries, the variation can be large. In the US, for example, reported usage across sectors varies from 18% in information to 1.4% in construction and agriculture.
Productivity impacts from general-purpose AI also vary significantly across jobs and tasks. A recent review of task-level productivity studies found that productivity gains usually range from 20% to 60% in controlled studies, and 15% to 30% in most experiments within real-world work settings. However, there are outliers at both the high and low ends, the study found.
Further research showed that early employment effects are mixed but suggest concentrated impacts on certain jobs and on junior workers. Two national-level studies from Denmark and the US found no discernible relationship between AI exposure or adoption and changes in overall employment.
Despite minimal aggregate effects, other research has found concentrated impacts on specific jobs. For example, one study cited in the report found that four months after ChatGPT was released, writing jobs on one online labour platform declined by 2% and writers’ monthly earnings fell by 5.2%.
Recent research also found that demand for freelance work using substitutable skills such as writing and translation decreased sharply after the release of ChatGPT, but demand for machine learning programming increased by 24%.
The report showed that studies found declining employment for early-career workers in the most AI-exposed occupations since late 2022, while employment for older workers in these same occupations remained stable or grew.
For junior workers, employment in AI-exposed jobs in the US has declined for younger workers but either held steady or has risen for older workers since the release of ChatGPT. In the UK, one study found that firms with high AI exposure have slowed new hiring, particularly for junior positions.
The report also stated that AI could lead to periods of labour market adjustment in which skill demands change rapidly, adding that the impacts of general-purpose AI may differ from those of previous automation technologies.
“General-purpose AI could widen income and wealth inequality within and between countries,” the report stated. “AI adoption may shift earnings from labour to capital owners, such as shareholders of firms that develop or use AI. Globally, high-income countries with skilled workforces and strong digital infrastructure are likely to capture AI’s benefits faster than low-income economies.”
General-purpose AI has spread rapidly but unevenly across countries, sectors, and occupations, disproportionately benefiting high-income cognitive workers and leaving lower earners with fewer gains, according to the International AI Safety Report 2026.
The report is a comprehensive review of the latest scientific research on the capabilities and risks of general-purpose AI systems.
It noted that general-purpose AI systems can automate or help with tasks that are relevant to many jobs worldwide, but predicting the labour-market impact is difficult.
Approximately 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% in emerging economies are exposed to general-purpose AI, but the impact of this will depend on how AI capabilities develop, how quickly workers and firms adopt AI, and how institutions respond, the report noted.
In the US, general-purpose AI has diffused faster than earlier technologies such as the internet, the report added.
Globally, adoption rates ranged from over 50% in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore to under 10% in many lower-income economies. Even within individual countries, the variation can be large. In the US, for example, reported usage across sectors varies from 18% in information to 1.4% in construction and agriculture.
Productivity impacts from general-purpose AI also vary significantly across jobs and tasks. A recent review of task-level productivity studies found that productivity gains usually range from 20% to 60% in controlled studies, and 15% to 30% in most experiments within real-world work settings. However, there are outliers at both the high and low ends, the study found.
Further research showed that early employment effects are mixed but suggest concentrated impacts on certain jobs and on junior workers. Two national-level studies from Denmark and the US found no discernible relationship between AI exposure or adoption and changes in overall employment.
Despite minimal aggregate effects, other research has found concentrated impacts on specific jobs. For example, one study cited in the report found that four months after ChatGPT was released, writing jobs on one online labour platform declined by 2% and writers’ monthly earnings fell by 5.2%.
Recent research also found that demand for freelance work using substitutable skills such as writing and translation decreased sharply after the release of ChatGPT, but demand for machine learning programming increased by 24%.
The report showed that studies found declining employment for early-career workers in the most AI-exposed occupations since late 2022, while employment for older workers in these same occupations remained stable or grew.
For junior workers, employment in AI-exposed jobs in the US has declined for younger workers but either held steady or has risen for older workers since the release of ChatGPT. In the UK, one study found that firms with high AI exposure have slowed new hiring, particularly for junior positions.
The report also stated that AI could lead to periods of labour market adjustment in which skill demands change rapidly, adding that the impacts of general-purpose AI may differ from those of previous automation technologies.
“General-purpose AI could widen income and wealth inequality within and between countries,” the report stated. “AI adoption may shift earnings from labour to capital owners, such as shareholders of firms that develop or use AI. Globally, high-income countries with skilled workforces and strong digital infrastructure are likely to capture AI’s benefits faster than low-income economies.”