Artificial intelligence and intergenerational occupational mobility

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a huge impact on economic development, while the literature focuses on the effect of AI on employment, and little is known about the impact of AI on intergenerational occupational mobility. Using a large, representative survey of individual-level data from the CGSS database, this paper presents novel evidence on the effect of AI on intergenerational occupational mobility. The results indicate that AI significantly increases intergenerational occupational mobility and induces more upward mobility, which stems from AI-induced demand for more high-skilled labors and changes in occupational task attributes. Furthermore, the effect of AI is heterogeneous for different groups in cognitive ability, family economic conditions, paternal educational attainment, and paternal occupational type.