Economists from the University of Chicago Present a Study on the Adoption of ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence, particularly AI chatbots like ChatGPT, has ushered in a new era of technological interaction. These intelligent systems, capable of understanding and generating human-like text, are not just prevalent across various applications but are also transforming the way we communicate, work, and learn. The rapid adoption of AI chatbots, particularly ChatGPT, across different domains and age groups worldwide, from businesses optimizing customer service to educators offering personalized learning experiences, is a testament to the transformative power of these technologies.

AI chatbots have the potential to bridge generational gaps in technology adoption. While younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are more inclined to use these tools for social interaction, entertainment, and learning, older adults are gradually embracing chatbots for more practical purposes. This diverse appeal of AI chatbots across different age groups is a promising sign of their potential to create a more inclusive and connected digital world.

In the corporate sector, businesses are leveraging AI chatbots, particularly ChatGPT, to enhance customer service, streamline operations, and provide personalized user experiences. This focus on enhancing user experiences through AI chatbots is a clear indication of how businesses are prioritizing the needs and preferences of their customers and employees.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have recently shown that their AI chatbot, ChatGPT, is quite good at investing activities, such as anticipating investment policies, interpreting extensive disclosures, and recognizing risk. Their recent research, which was conducted between November 2023 and January 2024, examines the spread of ChatGPT by gathering data (both qualitative and quantitative) on who has used the platform so far, how employees feel it will influence their work, and why some people use it while others don’t. The authors surveyed 100,000 employees from 11 occupations exposed to ChatGPT, with Statistics Denmark also involved in the poll. They investigate if alerting employees about expert evaluations of ChatGPT in their job activities affect their adoption of the tool through an experimental component of their survey. The authors ‘ survey replies link administrative data on participants’ demographics, incomes, wealth, education, and labor market histories.

Intensity Of Use Across Occupations & Genders

Regarding using ChatGPT, their findings suggest that the exposed occupations, including software developers, journalists, and legal professionals, have a high prevalence of ChatGPT. With acceptance rates ranging from 34% among financial advisors to 79% among software developers, the data shows that ChatGPT has seen the highest adoption rates among journalists, software developers, and IT support professionals, with over 50% of these workers using the AI chatbot at their jobs. However, adoption is lower in more traditional roles like office clerks, financial advisors, and customer service representatives, suggesting a divide in how different occupations leverage this emerging technology. Additionally, the significant portion of workers across all roles who are “Aware, Never Used” indicates there is still room for further adoption of ChatGPT as more professionals become familiar with its capabilities and integrate it into their workflows.

Among workers, 32% now use ChatGPT, with 6% having a Plus subscription. Marketing Professionals and Journalists have the highest intensity of ChatGPT usage, with 15% in Active Plus Subscription, while Software Developers have a slightly lower intensity, with 14% having an Active Plus Subscription. Legal Professionals, Accountants/Auditors, Teachers, Office Clerks, and Financial Advisors have the lowest intensity of use, with 4% or less having subscription ChatGPT.

The likelihood of utilizing ChatGPT is higher among younger and less experienced professionals. The probability of using ChatGPT decreases by 1 (0.7) percentage point for every year of age (experience). People with greater levels of education and better grades are more likely to utilize ChatGPT, which explains why its users have a somewhat higher income even though they have less experience with the company.

Among working-age men and women, ChatGPT usage is 20% lower among women. There is

no correlation between employees’ unique job responsibilities and the persistence of this gender disparity, even amongst co-workers in the same office. Employees in the affected occupations believe that ChatGPT has a huge opportunity to increase productivity. For individuals with more experience, the likelihood of stating that ChatGPT offers lower time savings is twice as high as for people with less competence.

What People Say Prevents Them from Using ChatGPT?

When workers hear how experts rate ChatGPT’s ability to save them time on work tasks, their own opinions change. This change lasts for at least two weeks and narrows the gap between workers’ and experts’ opinions by 15%. The treatment does not change how workers use ChatGPT, though.

The study highlights several key factors that prevent workers, particularly women, from using ChatGPT. The most significant barrier appears to be “Restrictions on Use,” with 30% of women and 41% of men citing this as a deterrent. These restrictions could be related to data privacy, company policies, or regulatory compliance, and they may be limiting the adoption of ChatGPT among employees. Another notable factor is “Need Training,” cited by 48% of women and 37% of men. This indicates that a lack of training or familiarity with the tool is a barrier to usage, and points to a need for more educational resources and support to help workers, especially women, become comfortable using ChatGPT. Interestingly, “Data Confidentiality” is also a concern for a significant proportion of both women (26%) and men (31%), highlighting the importance of addressing data privacy and security considerations in the adoption of AI chatbots like ChatGPT in the workplace. However, when asked why they don’t use ChatGPT, few employees mention “existential fears” of technological dependence or job loss.

The data suggests that policy restrictions, training needs, and data privacy concerns are the primary factors preventing more widespread use of ChatGPT among workers, with women generally facing greater barriers than their male counterparts.

According to this research, businesses have the power to make tools like ChatGPT more widely used. If governments or enterprises take the initiative to promote ChatGPT usage, it might help reverse some of the worrying tendencies that have been identified. Workers with less experience may want additional support to enjoy the advantages of generative AI, for instance, because those who use ChatGPT now made more money before it came. Similarly, this study’s findings on the gender gap would be widened if more training opportunities were made available to women. Lastly, many employees say they won’t increase their production on jobs where ChatGPT makes them more efficient. On the other hand, when businesses restructure their processes to use ChatGPT better, these productivity improvements could lead to even more output growth, which would benefit the economy.

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