AI and labour markets in early 2026

Описание: Investments in Artificial Intelligence are advancing at an unprecedented pace, raising fundamental questions about how this technology might reshape work, employment and skills. A new wave of empirical studies is beginning to shed light on these developments, but the evidence remains early and incomplete. Some of the first large scale findings, such as those from the “Canaries in the Coal Mine” study in the United States and a similar analysis from the United Kingdom, suggest that exposure to Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities may already be affecting employment patterns, hiring behaviour and the structure of job opportunities.

This session takes these emerging results as a starting point for a broader discussion on the state of knowledge about AI and labour markets. Following the evidence on early labour market impacts, the conversation will turn to the question of AI adoption: what it actually means for enterprises and workers to adopt AI, how adoption is measured, and why these distinctions matter for interpreting economic effects. The session will then explore how AI capabilities are changing, how this evolution may alter the relationship between tasks and technology, and what this implies for the risks of substitution versus the potential for genuine augmentation of labour and human abilities.

Looking ahead to 2026, the session will discuss key priorities for research, from improving measurement to understanding broader economic effects across different types of economies.

Speakers:
Bharat Chandar
Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford Digital Economy Lab

Bouke Klein Teeselink
Assistant Professor of Economics, King's College London

Moderators:
Pawel Gmyrek
Senior Researcher, International Labour Organization (ILO)


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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed are those of the panelists and do not reflect the official policy of the ITU.