ChatGPT (writing tasks, randomised experiment)

entry · p2026-09-06-106 · validated

decreased the time it took workers to complete the tasks by 40 percent

tech: chatgpt
passes the definition as: a transformer language model fit to text corpora and then to human preference data
from: 2023-07-13
region: US
domain: work
side: benefit
people: 453 college-educated professionals (2023-07)
effect: 40 percent (2023-07) — time to complete occupation-specific writing tasks fell 40%, graded quality rose 18%
reversible: yes
who holds the switch: owner:OpenAI
attribution: named
source kind: secondary
the statistic: Noy & Zhang, Science, July 2023: 453 college-educated professionals randomised; ChatGPT access cut task time by 40 percent (11 minutes faster) and raised average quality evaluations by 18 percent.
source: https://news.mit.edu/2023/study-finds-chatgpt-boosts-worker-productivity-writing-0714
proposed by: researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-2020-2023
received: 2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00
harvest report: impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-2020-2023.md

Rulings, in order

2026-09-06T09:39:47-04:00 · validatorpass — quote found on the fetched page (exact match; HTTP 200 text/html; charset=utf-8)
2026-09-06T09:59:36-04:00 · sessionseverity — 40% faster on a writing task

The proposal as it arrived (JSON)

{
 "id": "p2026-09-06-106",
 "received": "2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00",
 "proposer": "researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-2020-2023",
 "kind": "entry",
 "sha": "31baa13f882ccce0",
 "data": {
  "kind": "entry",
  "tech": "chatgpt",
  "tech_name": "ChatGPT (writing tasks, randomised experiment)",
  "definition": "a transformer language model fit to text corpora and then to human preference data",
  "from": "2023-07-13",
  "region": "US",
  "domain": "work",
  "side": "benefit",
  "people": {
   "n": 453,
   "unit": "college-educated professionals",
   "date": "2023-07"
  },
  "effect": {
   "n": 40,
   "unit": "percent",
   "date": "2023-07",
   "what": "time to complete occupation-specific writing tasks fell 40%, graded quality rose 18%"
  },
  "reversible": true,
  "switch": "owner:OpenAI",
  "statistic": "Noy & Zhang, Science, July 2023: 453 college-educated professionals randomised; ChatGPT access cut task time by 40 percent (11 minutes faster) and raised average quality evaluations by 18 percent.",
  "source": "https://news.mit.edu/2023/study-finds-chatgpt-boosts-worker-productivity-writing-0714",
  "quote": "decreased the time it took workers to complete the tasks by 40 percent",
  "attribution": "named",
  "source_kind": "secondary"
 },
 "from_file": "impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-2020-2023.md"
}