CNN reported that job opportunities in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector in the U.S. have surged since ChatGPT was first unveiled in November 2022.

Citing data from “AI Maps,” jointly developed by the University of Maryland and job-tracking firm LinkUp, CNN noted that AI-related job postings in the U.S. have increased by 68% since late 2022. In contrast, overall job postings declined by 17% during the same period.

Anil Gupta, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, described this as the “ChatGPT effect.”

On the other hand, Gupta explained that IT job postings, including those for programming roles unrelated to AI, have dropped by 27% since late 2022.

Job search site ZipRecruiter also reported a 124% surge in AI-related job postings from 2023 to the end of 2024. Global recruitment platform LinkedIn named AI engineers and AI consultants as the fastest-growing professions in the U.S. last month, while global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) stated last year that jobs requiring AI skills are growing more than three times faster than other occupations.

Two years after ChatGPT sparked an AI boom, U.S. Big Tech companies are pouring massive investments into AI programs.

Last month, Microsoft (MS) announced plans to invest $80 billion in AI data centers for its 2025 fiscal year. The day after his inauguration, President Donald Trump unveiled Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, Japan’s SoftBank, and Oracle.

While AI has created new types of jobs, workforce reductions, particularly among Big Tech firms, have also continued.

Google, months after announcing a multi-billion-dollar investment in AI startup Anthropic last year, laid off employees from its Google Assistant and hardware divisions.

A World Economic Forum survey last month found that 41% of employers plan to reduce their workforce for AI-related purposes by 2030.

Professor Gupta remarked, “We already know that tools like GitHub Copilot and other AI solutions can handle 60-70% of coding tasks,” adding, “Four people can now do the work of ten.”

He continued, “In the past, a six-day workweek was standard, and now it’s five days. Could we see a four-day workweek in 10 to 20 years? I think it’s highly likely.”

Additionally, he suggested that the open-source approach of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s “cost-effective” AI model could accelerate growth in the AI industry.