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Artificial intelligence has prompted concerns that workers — particularly young professionals — could be replaced by advancing technology. Yet signs are emerging that older workers are also affected, according to a new paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Workers aged 55-plus in AI-exposed industries are leaving their jobs more often, author Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, a professor of economics, told CNBC. Those transitions are equally driven by unemployment and voluntary reasons, he said. "It's a statistically significant effect," Sanzenbacher said. "For some occupations, it can be quite large."
3 ways AI may impact older workers' careers
AI may affect the length of older workers' careers in three ways, according to Sanzenbacher's research. Automation may replace older workers, prompting them to either become unemployed or leave the labor force completely, Sanzenbacher found. Or the pressure to adopt AI may lead some workers to either seek jobs that do not involve those new advancements or retire altogether. Alternatively, generative AI could allow people to work longer as productivity increases, pushing up wages and letting workers focus on engaging tasks, according to Sanzenbacher.
The research defines AI exposure based on the extent to which AI can be used to perform an occupation's tasks. It draws on Current Population Survey data and information on AI exposure from Tufts University's Digital Planet initiative, which studies the impact of digital innovations. The research found that before the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, older workers in AI-exposed roles were significantly less likely to leave their jobs. However, after the launch of ChatGPT, they were somewhat more likely to transition out of work, including to unemployment.
AI may narrow differences in career lengths
Older workers who are more susceptible to AI changes tend to be white, are much more likely to have a college degree and tend to have higher earnings compared with workers with low AI exposure, according to Sanzenbacher's research. According to the research, based on Digital Planet's AI exposure scores, the five careers with the highest AI exposure — and therefore more susceptible to changes — are: Web and digital interface designers
Web developers
Database architects
Computer programmers
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