Jiasun Li, George Mason University – Will A.I. Replace Content Creators?

The Academic Minute

Will artificial intelligence replace content creators?

Jiasun Li, associate professor of finance at the George Mason University Costello College of Business, says not quite.

Jiasun Li is an associate professor of finance at the George Mason University Costello College of Business and has a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His research interests lie in the intersection of economics and computer science, including much work on blockchain technologies. Professor Li has presented his research findings across the globe and has won numerous best paper prizes and research grants, including the CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. He has also been voted by all students as “Faculty of the Year.”

Will A.I. Replace Content Creators?

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With the integration of generative AI in business such as Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and the upcoming Apple Intelligence, there is a specific group of people whose job security may now be at risk: content creators. Will AI replace them all?

In my recent research, I adapted a famous model from financial economics to shed light on this question, and the answer is, no. The model was originally developed to show that a perfectly efficient market is paradoxical. This is because if all information about an asset were perfectly reflected in its price, there would be no way for active investors to beat the market and therefore no incentive to bring new information to asset prices.

I argue that the dynamics between generative AI and human creativity works in a similar way. Since genAI models such as ChatGPT work by parroting existing data, it resembles the “priced in” information. Hence the market for creativity needs its equivalent of “active investors”, meaning human creatives whose efforts introduce novel elements into our collective knowledge.

This accurately illustrates the interaction between genAI and human creatives.

If AI-generated content is not set to replace human creatives, what will their interaction look like? The answer is coexistence. While AI can mimic the deep underlying patterns of our content, what it lacks is originality. For this reason, I envision that some content creators will learn to collaborate with AI and prevent technological innovations from leaving them behind.

What does this mean for content creators? Well, generative AI is here to stay, but you don’t have to be intimidated; in fact, it can help you be more efficient in your work. The future is about how well you adapt to collaborating with the tool, not your ability to resist it. And as long as you are able to collaborate with AI, you will still keep your job.

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Relevant publications:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LXZUjssAAAAJ&hl=en

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/technology/coinbase-is-fighting-back-can-it-outmaneuver-the-sec/article_c21b1eb0-f0d2-11ed-826d-c3c83603bfc1.html

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