The Potential Impact of Disruptive AI Innovations on U.S. Occupations

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Kim, Munjung, Constantinides, Marios, Šćepanović, Sanja, Ahn, Yong-Yeol, Quercia, Daniele
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Kim, Munjung
Constantinides, Marios
Šćepanović, Sanja
Ahn, Yong-Yeol
Quercia, Daniele
author_facet Kim, Munjung
Constantinides, Marios
Šćepanović, Sanja
Ahn, Yong-Yeol
Quercia, Daniele
contents The rapid rise of AI is poised to disrupt the labor market. However, AI is not a monolith; its impact depends on both the nature of the innovation and the jobs it affects. While computational approaches are emerging, there is no consensus on how to systematically measure an innovation's disruptive potential. Here, we calculate the disruption index of 3,237 U.S. AI patents (2015-2022) and link them to job tasks to distinguish between "consolidating" AI innovations that reinforce existing structures and "disruptive" AI innovations that alter them. Our analysis reveals that consolidating AI primarily targets physical, routine, and solo tasks, common in manufacturing and construction in the Midwest and central states. By contrast, disruptive AI affects unpredictable and mental tasks, particularly in coastal science and technology sectors. Surprisingly, we also find that disruptive AI disproportionately affects areas already facing skilled labor shortages, suggesting disruptive AI technologies may accelerate change where workers are scarce rather than replacing a surplus. Ultimately, consolidating AI appears to extend current automation trends, while disruptive AI is set to transform complex mental work, with a notable exception for collaborative tasks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_11403
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Potential Impact of Disruptive AI Innovations on U.S. Occupations
Kim, Munjung
Constantinides, Marios
Šćepanović, Sanja
Ahn, Yong-Yeol
Quercia, Daniele
Computers and Society
Social and Information Networks
The rapid rise of AI is poised to disrupt the labor market. However, AI is not a monolith; its impact depends on both the nature of the innovation and the jobs it affects. While computational approaches are emerging, there is no consensus on how to systematically measure an innovation's disruptive potential. Here, we calculate the disruption index of 3,237 U.S. AI patents (2015-2022) and link them to job tasks to distinguish between "consolidating" AI innovations that reinforce existing structures and "disruptive" AI innovations that alter them. Our analysis reveals that consolidating AI primarily targets physical, routine, and solo tasks, common in manufacturing and construction in the Midwest and central states. By contrast, disruptive AI affects unpredictable and mental tasks, particularly in coastal science and technology sectors. Surprisingly, we also find that disruptive AI disproportionately affects areas already facing skilled labor shortages, suggesting disruptive AI technologies may accelerate change where workers are scarce rather than replacing a surplus. Ultimately, consolidating AI appears to extend current automation trends, while disruptive AI is set to transform complex mental work, with a notable exception for collaborative tasks.
title The Potential Impact of Disruptive AI Innovations on U.S. Occupations
topic Computers and Society
Social and Information Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.11403