Algorithmic Job Creation: How AI-Powered Video Platforms Boost Employment

Liao, Yuxi and Huang, Kaixing (2025): Algorithmic Job Creation: How AI-Powered Video Platforms Boost Employment.

Abstract

We provide causal evidence on the job-creating potential of artificial intelligence by examining the rise of AI-powered short-video platforms. Using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies, we exploit the staggered adoption of short-videos in a difference-in-differences design. We find that exposure to short videos increases the probability of employment by approximately 3 percentage points, an effect robust to instrumental variable and matching strategies. This implies the creation of 19.8 million jobs in China by 2022. The employment gains are concentrated among marginalized groups—including those with low education, low income, rural residents, and mothers—thus reducing employment inequality. However, we document a significant trade-off: short-video exposure negatively impacts physical and mental health, reducing sleep, exercise, and subjective well-being. Our results highlight both the potential for AI to foster inclusive employment and the associated costs for human capital

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Employment, Inequality, Health, Short Video Platforms, China
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare, Well-Being; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J21 - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences ; Diffusion Processes

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