Every executive making workforce decisions right now is flying blind, because no credible, independent data on AI’s economic impact exists at scale.

The research gap is costing decision-makers real credibility

Policy analysts and labor economists are being asked to forecast AI’s effect on employment with almost no rigorous, real-world data behind them. The studies that do exist are narrow, slow, or funded by parties with obvious conflicts of interest.

OpenAI is paying outside researchers to fill that gap

Introducing the OpenAI Economic Research Exchange is a structured grant and collaboration program where researchers apply to study AI’s measurable effects on jobs, wages, and productivity using real inputs: research proposals, institutional affiliations, and defined methodologies. Selected projects receive access to OpenAI resources and data, with outputs intended for public economic literature.

Labor economists are first in line, but they are not alone

• Labor economists tracking sector-level displacement who need proprietary model usage data they cannot get anywhere else
• Corporate workforce strategists who need peer-reviewed cover before presenting AI adoption timelines to boards
• Policy researchers inside government agencies who must justify AI regulation proposals with evidence that holds up to scrutiny

The common thread is not academic curiosity. It is institutional accountability.

The timing is not accidental

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no AI-specific employment category, and the IMF estimated in early 2024 that AI could affect 40 percent of jobs globally without offering a concrete directional verdict. OpenAI releasing this exchange now positions it as the source of record on a question regulators are about to force an answer to.

What researchers can actually do with this

• Apply to study AI adoption rates across specific industries using OpenAI usage data
• Design controlled studies on productivity changes before and after AI tool deployment
• Access collaboration with OpenAI staff economists on joint research outputs
• Publish findings in economic journals with institutional backing from the program

Pricing not listed — check our directory.

This is an application-based program, so most researchers will not get in on the first cycle.

The MIT Work of the Future initiative covers adjacent ground but operates independently and without direct model access. McKinsey Global Institute produces similar economic reports, but those are proprietary and closed to outside contributors.

Who controls the narrative on AI and jobs is being decided right now

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