NEWS · RESEARCH · #408
Cohere Labs: Limitations of 2023 'GPTs are GPTs' exposure scores are shaping policy
Cohere Labs argues that the widely cited 2023 paper 'GPTs are GPTs'—which estimated how many U.S. jobs have tasks exposed to LLMs—was a bounded technical exercise tied to a 2023 GPT-4-era model and a U.S. occupational taxonomy, yet its exposure scores are now being used by the IMF, OECD, U.S. Senate and others to inform 2026 policy decisions. The brief warns these limitations compound when scores travel across models, countries, and non-itemizable work, and calls for more dynamic, representative measurement tools and worker-centered research to better inform policymakers.
KEY POINTS
- Cohere Labs argues that the widely cited 2023 paper 'GPTs are GPTs'—which estimated how many U.S.
- jobs have tasks exposed to LLMs—was a bounded technical exercise tied to a 2023 GPT-4-era model and a U.S.
- occupational taxonomy, yet its exposure scores are now being used by the IMF, OECD, U.S.
WHY IT MATTERS
Policymakers relying on static 2023 exposure scores risk making decisions based on outdated, US-specific, and taskized estimates rather than evidence that reflects current models, diverse labor markets, and the non-itemizable parts of work.