Caught between ever-shifting office policies and widespread criticism for their desire to work remotely, 2023 has been a rough year for the newly dubbed “laptop class” that comprises knowledge workers such as writers, human resource officers, lawyers, artists, and even software developers. The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) haven’t helped either, with their seeming ability to mimic human intelligence striking uncertainty into white collar workers. As many as 1 in 4 workers are worried about AI making them obsolete, and this concern is even more profound within the realm of advertising and marketing (51%).
Their fears are not unfounded, as AI-related layoffs have been happening in relentless waves. Just this May, American tech corporation IBM put the brakes on hiring roles that AI could allegedly handle, and has since announced job cuts for a further 8,000 positions barely three months later in August. If full time employees who are contractually tethered to their employers for a minimum of 40 hours a week are getting sidelined for cheaper AI subscriptions, what does this mean for freelancers, who make a living off outsourced work that encumbered in-house teams use to handle? And with employers who once leaned on freelancers for support now armed with AI assistants, how can freelancers adapt to this looming threat?
How AI is already changing things for small businesses
While reports on the impact of AI are a mixed bag, real-life accounts of work slowing down for freelancers and small enterprise owners are already beginning to surface. He Ruiming, co-founder of the personal finance newsletter, candidly reveals that his lesser-known venture, the Central Content Bureau, has faced a considerable revenue blow as previous clients have taken (AI-assisted) content writing in-house.
Freelance Writer Matt Staples also painted a grim picture as he documented his income in 2023. Once a 5-star rated writer on Fiverr who always juggled a healthy stream of projects, including high-visibility content that garnered up to 40k daily impressions, Staples still noticed a significant decline in orders after the mass adoption of AI. He initially tried to retain clients by slashing his rates, but decided that it was no longer sustainable after clients continued to leave even after he slashed prices from $40 per 500 words to a mere $10. Anything below that threshold would be insufficient for covering his bills.
AI may not always be the direct cause of layoffs
In the current climate, AI has nearly become synonymous with layoffs. However, a closer look beneath the surface reveals that some companies may be using the current technological trend as a veneer to hide performance and funding related cuts.
Summit Shah, CEO of e-commerce startup Dukaan, made headlines when he announced layoffs for 90% of his support team, citing impressive numbers such as zero customer service response time and 85% operations savings. However, critics on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to point out the tone-deaf nature of his message, particularly to those who had lost their livelihoods. Furthermore, Dukaan’s AI-first approach has not been well received by customers, who, despite the lofty claims of AI’s benefits, appear to be wholly dissatisfied with the platform.
Will businesses regret relying too much on AI?
Though Dukaan might appear to be an outlier, they are actually not too far removed from the prevailing trend of mass scale layoffs. But even in the current climate, businesses should be warned that leveraging too much on AI will also expose them to other types of risks — particularly when the technology fails, becomes too expensive, or suddenly unavailable.
Global early-stage venture capital firm RTP has warned investors to exercise prudence in AI-based startup investments, particularly ones that simply offer superficial application layers built on top of OpenAI instead of integrating AI into existing, market-viable products. Furthermore, mounting copyright litigations involving ChatGPT highlight underlying risks of AI-dependent businesses who may have to seek new solutions should OpenAI be forced to delete training data.
By the time these issues arise, companies will be spending far more time and resources hiring and training professionals who did not even have to be let go in the first place — far more than they would have spent on tried and tested professionals who can be even more productive with AI on their side.
How freelancers can stand out in the sea of AI-generated content
On the other end of the spectrum, freelancing platforms have experienced a surge in unqualified professionals leveraging AI to fabricate non-existent language fluency and skill competency. The result is that companies are shelling out a premium for raw ChatGPT outputs wholly unfit for their intended purposes. In response, companies hiring online are now demanding proof of qualifications and proficiency before proceeding with a hire.
To investigate this phenomenon, the Intuition Machines' hCaptcha created a job post with screening questions that would take five minutes or less for domain experts to answer — and which LLMs would generate incorrect results for. Out of the 14 bids they received, all of them were found to be generated by LLMs. Needless to say, researchers did not end up hiring anyone from the pool of applicants who provided factually incorrect answers.
We’re flogging a dead horse at this point, but it’s still worth mentioning that domain knowledge and expertise is still indispensable in the age of AI. Such knowledge empowers businesses to fully harness AI’s potential through informed prompts and output assessments. By building upon AI’s outputs, freelancers will be able to prove their worth to discerning business owners who would have likely analysed AI for its cost saving potential and be capable of spotting it from a mile away.
Find the right AI balance with Freelancer Nation
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