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Writers accept lower pay when they use AI to help with their work

When writers are allowed to get help from ChatGPT, they accept lower pay, fuelling fears that AI will lower the value of skilled workers

By Chris Stokel-Walker

7 June 2024

Writers may value their work less when they get help from AI

Kilito Chan/Getty Images

Writers are willing to take a 28 per cent pay cut when allowed to use AI to assist with their work. This is seen as a trade-off for saved labour, but it suggests AI tools will reduce the value of creative writing as a profession, say researchers.

“We were curious about how generative AI can contribute to the creation process, and if it can make work easier for the worker,” says Chen Liang at the University of Connecticut. “And if that’s the case, how…

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