Paper Number
ICIS2026-2082
Paper Type
Completed
Abstract
This paper examines how firm adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) affects independent careers among creative employees, a non-technical group largely overlooked in AI labor research. We study two margins beyond the firm: moonlighting, or freelancing while employed, and entrepreneurship, or leaving to found new ventures. Using LinkedIn-based career histories for the top 500 U.S. employers of creative talent from 2010 to 2022, we find that AI adoption reduces moonlighting by about one percentage point for a one-standard-deviation increase in AI intensity, mainly through higher employee retention. Overall entrepreneurship is unchanged, but AI-related ventures increase modestly, suggesting that workers exposed to AI inside firms may carry this experience into new business formation. The decline in freelancing is concentrated where AI is directly embedded in creative functions, especially product-oriented applications. These findings show how firm-level AI adoption reshapes whether creative talent remains within organizations or moves into independent careers.
Recommended Citation
Liu, Yixuan and Lou, Zeyu, "AI and Independent Career Moves: Evidence from Creative Workers" (2026). ICIS 2026 Proceedings. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2026/fow/fow/10
AI and Independent Career Moves: Evidence from Creative Workers
This paper examines how firm adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) affects independent careers among creative employees, a non-technical group largely overlooked in AI labor research. We study two margins beyond the firm: moonlighting, or freelancing while employed, and entrepreneurship, or leaving to found new ventures. Using LinkedIn-based career histories for the top 500 U.S. employers of creative talent from 2010 to 2022, we find that AI adoption reduces moonlighting by about one percentage point for a one-standard-deviation increase in AI intensity, mainly through higher employee retention. Overall entrepreneurship is unchanged, but AI-related ventures increase modestly, suggesting that workers exposed to AI inside firms may carry this experience into new business formation. The decline in freelancing is concentrated where AI is directly embedded in creative functions, especially product-oriented applications. These findings show how firm-level AI adoption reshapes whether creative talent remains within organizations or moves into independent careers.
Comments
03_Future_of_work