Beyond the hype, AI is reshaping work, not destroying it

By now, it’s clear that generative AI is no longer the stuff of science fiction — it’s a tool that is already a fixture in a growing number of workplaces.

From code generation at Google and Microsoft to the mass production of language courses at Duolingo, large language models have rapidly carved out a sizeable niche in cognitive work.

But the key question remains unresolved: are we truly witnessing a disruption of the labor market?

A recent and exceptionally rigorous study by Anders Humlum (University of Chicago) and Emilie Vestergaard (University of Copenhagen), published in April 2025, sheds empirical light on the issue. Titled “Large Language Models, small labor market effects”, it draws on Danish administrative data combined with large-scale adoption surveys. Its conclusion is both solid and counterintuitive: despite the rapid uptake of AI chatbots in eleven highly exposed professions, there is no detectable effect on wages or hours worked — not even a 1% shift.

The transformation is real, but not economic — or at least not yet. The study examined more than 25,000 workers and 7,000 companies, clearly showing that chatbots are now a routine part of working life: 83% of employees use them in companies that encourage their use, 38% of firms have developed internal…