Publication: Mar/Apr 2025
The U.S. technology startup OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, a pivotal event viewed as instrumental in bringing the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to a mass audience. Over time, attitudes toward GAI tools, held by both organizations and individuals, have generally become more positive, fostering widespread adoption and acceptance. Even skeptics and critics, initially dismissing GAI tools like ChatGPT as mere “fun gimmicks,” have since reconsidered their stance. Consequently, GAI tools have rapidly permeated organizations in a relatively short span. A survey conducted by software company Adobe across five countries—Australia, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.—revealed that 79% of business leaders expect their employees to frequently use GAI in their work. According to a report by Bloomberg Intelligence, the GAI industry was $40 billion in 2022, which is expected to reach $1.32 trillion in 2032.
This rapid diffusion of GAI among organizations is poised to lead to significant economic gains, with expectations that GAI will contribute trillions of dollars to the global GDP in the next few years. A McKinsey study published in June 2023 identified 63 GAI use cases (targeted GAI applications to specific business challenges, which lead to measurable outcomes) across 16 business functions that could generate annual economic benefits in the range of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion. In addition to the use cases, McKinsey analyzed GAI’s potential impact on the work activities required in some 850 occupations by modeling scenarios for more than 2,100 “detailed work activities” to measure GAI-led increases in productivity. The additional economic benefits of GAI are estimated at $6.1 trillion to $7.9 trillion annually. McKinsey’s study published in mid-2023 found that 90% of commercial leaders expected to utilize GAI solutions “often” over the next two years.
GAI and large language models (LLMs) have also democratized access to AI. They have facilitated truly enterprise-wide AI adoption. An article published at MIT Technology Review Insights noted that newly emerging use cases have helped AI to move from pilot projects and “islands of excellence” to a generalized capability in organizational workflows.
GAI also introduces social and ethical concerns such as bias and discrimination, as these systems may perpetuate existing societal prejudices. The risk of misinformation and disinformation also rises, given the technology’s ability to create realistic content. Ensuring transparency, addressing privacy issues, and promoting inclusivity are vital for navigating the ethical challenges associated with the widespread adoption of GAI.
In light of the above observations, this special issue aims to document the diverse economic and societal impacts of GAI.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Only submissions that describe previously unpublished, original, state-of-the-art research and that are not currently under review by a conference or another journal will be considered. Extended versions of conference papers must be at least 30 percent different from the original conference works. Feature articles should be no longer than 4,200 words and have no more than 20 references (with tables and figures counting as 300 words each). For author guidelines, see the Author Information page.
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Contact the lead guest editor at nbkshetr@uncg.edu.
