From Mundane to Meaningful: AI's Influence on Work Dynamics -- evidence from ChatGPT and Stack Overflow

Abstract

This paper illustrates how generative AI could give opportunities for big productivity gains but also opens up questions about the impact of these new powerful technologies on the way we work and share knowledge. More specifically, we explore how ChatGPT changed a fundamental aspect of coding: problem-solving. To do so, we exploit the effect of the sudden release of ChatGPT on the 30th of November 2022 on the usage of the largest online community for coders: Stack Overflow. Using quasi-experimental methods (Difference-in-Difference), we find a significant drop in the number of questions. In addition, the questions are better documented after the release of ChatGPT. Finally, we find evidence that the remaining questions are more complex. These findings suggest not only productivity gains but also a fundamental change in the way we work where routine inquiries are solved by AI allowing humans to focus on more complex tasks.