Jul 17, 2023 11:00:00

It is pointed out that 'the development of AI is increasing pressure on outsourced workers,' and what is the 'impact of AI on work' that freelancers in various industries talk about?

With the emergence of ChatGPT, which can generate natural dialogue and sophisticated sentences, and Stable Diffusion and Midjourney, which can generate high-quality images simply by entering words, it has been pointed out that

even if humans are superior in quality, they cannot compete with production speed and free . Cases of AI taking over illustrators' jobs and changing the nature of game development have been reported. The introduction of AI has led to the online storage service Dropbox firing approximately 16% of all employees , and AI significantly reduced the time it took to solve problems, resulting in 90% of staff being fired. However, technology media outlet Rest of World interviewed freelancers from various industries and pointed out that 'freelancers and contract workers who deal with outsourcing are most at risk from companies' adoption of AI.'

The workers at the frontlines of the AI revolution - Rest of World
https://restofworld.org/2023/ai-revolution-outsourced-workers/

The rapid development and widespread adoption of generative AI, which can generate extremely high-quality text, programs, illustrations, and photographs simply by entering simple sentences (prompts), has led to numerous case studies and studies reporting on the impact of AI on work. Research by OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that 80% of all jobs will be affected by AI, while research by the American financial group Goldman Sachs suggests that generative AI could increase global GDP by 7% while impacting 300 million jobs.

A study reports that automated AI such as 'ChatGPT' will increase global GDP by 7% while affecting 300 million jobs, and that Japan will be the third most affected in the world - GIGAZINE

While there have been several reported cases of large-scale layoffs within companies as a result of AI increasing work efficiency and productivity, Rest of World points out that 'outsourced workers are particularly affected and most at risk,' and ' offshore outsourced workers, who outsourced to regions with lower prices and labor costs to reduce costs, are at the forefront of the generative AI revolution.'

A 2020 study by the Online Labor Observatory, a labor market research collaboration between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Oxford University, found that freelancers from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were predominantly employed on platforms, with the majority of clients coming from the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Uma Rani, a senior economist at the ILO, explained, 'Offshoring services rely on workers in regions where wages are lower, so employers seek workers on offshore platforms. However, the platform fees workers must pay almost double the exploitation they face.' Because this offshoring model has built-in instability in terms of price and quality, freelancers are particularly vulnerable to labor market changes driven by generative AI, according to Rest of World.

Rest of World speaks to outsourced workers across different countries and industries about how their jobs are being affected by generative AI.

Afael Rodriguez Deustua, who works on the freelance graphic designer platform

99designs , talks about the experience of competing with generative AI on the site. 99designs has a 'design contest' where clients refer to others to create the design they want, and in recent months, the number of works generated by generative AI there has been increasing. Deustua says, 'It bothers me when people who don't have the talent, or who haven't practiced for years to acquire the skills to 'win' the contest, enter with illustrations they haven't actually drawn.' He has expressed his opposition to using generative AI.

Abisoye Otusanya Azzan, a copywriter based in Lagos, Nigeria, writes marketing copy primarily for US- and UK-based clients in areas such as personal development and fitness. Azzan quickly caught on to the ChatGPT trend, gaining knowledge from guides and communities to understand how to provide better prompts. 'I think many clients are already using AI tools instead of hiring copywriters,' Azzan said. 'However, this technology could bring other opportunities. I've seen companies looking to hire engineer-writers, so this may be the next area of demand. I'm interested to see how things develop.'

Santiago Bautista Gonzalez, an illustrator based in Mexico, used to earn around $1,500 (approximately ¥200,000) selling manga-style illustrations, but by early 2023, that income had dropped to one-third. Fiverr , the online marketplace he uses, added a section for AI artists. Realizing this was the cause, Gonzalez learned how to use AI tools and began posting. As a result, he was able to capitalize on the trend and generate sales. His reputation for AI content also led to increased orders for traditional hand-drawn illustrations. 'I'm not afraid that generative AI will take my job,' Gonzalez said. 'Creating images with AI still requires a certain level of creativity. And if AI can take over my work, it just means I have less work to do, more time to focus on my own projects, and more income.'

The image below shows an illustration of a delivery driver who lost a package while driving through the city, commissioned by Rest of World. The left is a hand-drawn illustration without AI, and the right is an AI-based illustration. The hand-drawn illustration involved searching for reference materials, drawing a line drawing, and then adding color in Adobe Illustrator, which took 94 minutes and cost $70 (approximately 9,600 yen). The AI illustration was created by having Midjourney create various images and combining the resulting images in Adobe Photoshop, which took 32 minutes and cost $50 (approximately 6,900 yen).

Jessica Tarriera, an online assistant based in the Philippines, writes emails and conducts research for her clients, primarily American content marketing companies. She shares her experience: 'I'm not a great writer, so I use ChatGP to paraphrase, write, and summarize things. My clients know I use AI and encourage it. In my work, AI tools don't save me time, but they do improve the quality of my work.'

Meanwhile, Mylene Cavalona, president of the Employee Network, a similar business outsourcing industry group, said many online assistants are concerned that AI tools will make their jobs unnecessary. 'We're not against AI, we're not against any software development,' she said. 'But AI should be a mechanism to help workers, not against them, and AI shouldn't be used to replace workers.'

Wu Dayu, a marketing designer based in Guangdong Province, China, says that creating promotional materials for six outfits for an online fashion store previously required a week of labor and about $3,500 (approximately ¥480,000), including the use of models, makeup artists, photographers, and venues. However, since adopting generative AI in March 2023, the same task took two people a day to complete, reducing costs to just $140 (approximately ¥1,900). As a result, Dayu laid off 60% of his employees in April. 'Some high-end brands may prefer human models,' Dayu says. 'But for small and medium-sized retailers, AI models save a lot of money and time.'

Meanwhile, fashion photographer Shaiman Liu said he doubts AI content will replace all photography, believing products promoted with real models will be more appealing to shoppers. And model Charlene Xu worries that clients using generative AI could affect her hourly rate and compensation.

While some offshore outsourced workers are shifting their focus to AI-related work, others are devoting themselves to fighting AI. Deustua, an illustrator from Guadalajara, Mexico, said that in order to survive as an illustrator, 'Many clients have difficulty explaining what they want. We can help them communicate their wishes. I hope to build stronger relationships with customers who demand more attention to detail.' In fact, one client who tried to use generative AI but couldn't get it to work properly referred the request to Deustua.

Deustua has worked as a journalist for over 20 years, but when digital news sites and social media emerged in the 2010s, he felt that print media work was decreasing, so he switched to freelance illustrator. 'I've already been displaced once by technology,' he says, speaking from his own experience of the impact of social change on work.