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AI at Work: Field Experiments on the Workforce Effects of New AI Tools

Advancing quantitative social science research on how new AI tools impact the workplace

The AI at Work program aims to spur exceptional research exploring how adoption of AI may affect the nature of work and the operation of the labor market. The program supports both descriptive work that gauges causal impacts, and prescriptive work that field-tests the design of tools, training, and policies that may produce desirable outcomes.

Currently, there are too few high-quality field experiments and quasi-experiments that examine the real-world effects of introducing AI tools in the workplace. Stakeholders, such as AI tool developers, government agencies and businesses, need reliable information on how AI systems perform in practice and what their implementation means for employees and the labor market. The AI at Work program addresses this need by funding research that provides clear and trustworthy estimates of the effect of the deployment of AI tools in the workplace.

We are now accepting proposals for our 2026 research agenda. Expressions of interest are due April 10. See below for further details.

2026 Research Agenda

Worker Displacement and Adjustment, and Scientific Productivity

In 2026, AI at Work will support early career economists and other quantitative social scientists, including graduate students, with up to USD 200,000 to conduct and analyze field experiments and quasi-experiments exploring the effects of AI tools on the workplace. To help identify promising candidates and projects, we are partnering with five leading economists and research institutions, each of whom has contributed to shaping our 2026 research agenda and will be helping to identify promising applicants.

This year, the program has two funding priorities:

1. The Impact of AI on Worker Displacement and Adjustment

2. The Impact of AI on Scientific Productivity

For more details, please see the 2026 AI at Work research agenda. Proposals outside these priorities will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

All applicants should submit proposals here.