The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Creative Industries: Freelancers' Fears and Concerns

The article examines the impact of the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on creative industries and the concerns of workers in this field about a possible deterioration in their working conditions and displacement from the labor market. The purpose of the study is to identify the degree of concern of freelancers engaged in intellectual and creative professions about competition with AI and to assess their perception of the current capabilities of AI in creating creative content. The empirical base was the data of an online survey of 778 Russian freelancers receiving orders through the remote work exchange Freelance.ru conducted in the spring of 2024. It turned out that many respondents are already actively using AI in their work. Most freelancers note the high current capabilities of AI in creating texts, images, translation, more than a third believe that in the coming years AI will be able to perform their typical work as well or even better than they do themselves. People who have been trained to work with AI, use it to perform work tasks, are satisfied with their work and have a high income, i.e., have a generally stable position in the labor market, are less likely to feel concerned about their future. Despite the concerns of some workers, the development of AI opens up new opportunities for creative industries, but regular monitoring of the situation is required to develop measures to adapt the labor market.