State of AI and Society
Any informed debate on AI should start from a clear view of where the evidence stands, including what the existing literature covers, what it agrees on, what it disputes and what it has yet to address.
The State of AI and Society report series aims to build the foundation for informed debates on AI, synthesising what we know and what do not know about the impacts of AI on our economies and societies.
The reports inform the discussions at LSE's Global Forum for AI and Social Sciences 2026. The research has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
AI's Quantitative Impacts on Labour Markets
Predictions about the relationship between AI and work are running ahead of the evidence. Headlines describe autonomous systems replacing large parts of white-collar work, while the measured effects on employment and wages remain smaller, more concentrated and considerably more uncertain than the headlines imply. In this report, we outline the boundaries of our knowledge and establish what claims the evidence currently can and cannot support. In addition to the report, interested readers can explore the existing literature using two resources: an interactive literature tree and our evidence database.
AI's Quantitative Impacts on Labour Markets
Authors: Cosmina Dorobantu, Hemawathy Balarama, Akash Uppal, Aristeidis Grivokostopoulos, Maximilian Goehmann, Helen Margetts. LSE.
Interactive literature tree
The interactive literature tree organises 138 publications along three dimensions: the type of AI they study, the vintage of the underlying data and whether the evidence is potential or actual.
Evidence database
The evidence database focuses on 74 publications that answer the question of how much AI impacts employment and wages.
AI's Impacts on the Quality of Work
The debate around AI and work has focused primarily on how many jobs there will be, rather than on what the jobs will be like. This report takes up the second question, from the perspective of workers. We ask whether AI affects the conditions under which work takes place and whether work can be described as decent. We also inquire whether AI affects the nature of work and whether AI-powered work can be described as meaningful.
AI's Impacts on the Quality of Work
Authors: Chris Thomas, Cosmina Dorobantu, Florian Ostmann, Helen Margetts, Rebecca Clark, Georgia Meyer, Akash Uppal. LSE
