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Who is afraid of AI? Who should be?

Engberg, Erik ; Görg, Holger ; Hellsten, Mark ; Javed, Farrukh LU ; Lodefalk, Magnus LU ; Längkvist, Martin ; Monteiro, Natália ; Kyvik Nordås, Hildegunn ; Pulito, Giuseppe and Schroeder, Sarah , et al. (2026) In Kiel Policy Brief
Abstract
Occupations that are highly cognitive, non-physical, and low in social interaction - typically higher-skill white-collar roles such as data analysts, software developers, and translators - turn out to be highly AI-exposed • Occupations requiring manual dexterity or intensive interpersonal contact - such as construction labourers or nursing aides - remain among the least exposed to current AI technologies • Aggregate occupational exposure to AI has risen markedly since 2010, with especially rapid gains in the late 2010s and early 2020s • Our baseline estimates show no detectable effect of AI exposure on total firm employment, while it is associated with clear skill upgrading
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publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Artificial intelligence, Labour demand, Multi-country firm-level evidence, E24, J23, J24, N34, O33
in
Kiel Policy Brief
issue
198
pages
12 pages
publisher
Kiel Institute for the World Economy
report number
198
ISSN
2195–7525
ISBN
2195–7525
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3e6c180c-fe3d-4206-a1f6-449e3406eeac
date added to LUP
2026-04-20 13:27:44
date last changed
2026-04-20 14:01:01
@techreport{3e6c180c-fe3d-4206-a1f6-449e3406eeac,
  abstract     = {{Occupations that are highly cognitive, non-physical, and low in social interaction - typically higher-skill white-collar roles such as data analysts, software developers, and translators - turn out to be highly AI-exposed • Occupations requiring manual dexterity or intensive interpersonal contact - such as construction labourers or nursing aides - remain among the least exposed to current AI technologies • Aggregate occupational exposure to AI has risen markedly since 2010, with especially rapid gains in the late 2010s and early 2020s • Our baseline estimates show no detectable effect of AI exposure on total firm employment, while it is associated with clear skill upgrading}},
  author       = {{Engberg, Erik and Görg, Holger and Hellsten, Mark and Javed, Farrukh and Lodefalk, Magnus and Längkvist, Martin and Monteiro, Natália and Kyvik Nordås, Hildegunn and Pulito, Giuseppe and Schroeder, Sarah and Tang, Aili}},
  institution  = {{Kiel Institute for the World Economy}},
  isbn         = {{2195–7525}},
  issn         = {{2195–7525}},
  keywords     = {{Artificial intelligence; Labour demand; Multi-country firm-level evidence; E24; J23; J24; N34; O33}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{198}},
  series       = {{Kiel Policy Brief}},
  title        = {{Who is afraid of AI? Who should be?}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}