When journalist Abbianca Nassar started enjoying success as a freelance ghostwriter and brand strategist, she decided to turn that side hustle into her full-time job after being laid off from her main job last year. But now, she’s worried that she’ll lose that gig to artificial intelligence (AI).
As she told Business Insider (1), some clients of hers are developing their own AI tools. Others are asking her to edit her work so that no one is able to question whether it was written by a human.
So far, AI hasn’t made Nassar’s job better or worse. But she’s resigned to having it become a mainstay in her line of work.
“My biggest fear is not adapting and then being left behind,” she told Business Insider.
Nassar isn’t the only one affected. The reality is that AI could take work away from many full-time employees and side hustlers alike. So it’s important to be vigilant and adaptable.
An estimated 42 million people in the U.S. have a side hustle, according to the Gig Economy Data Hub. (2) Some of them rely on it for their primary income, while the majority work a second gig to supplement their income.
TurboTax, meanwhile, found that 45% of people with a side hustle make less than $500 a month, 27% of them bring in at least $1,000 a month and 56% of side hustlers use their earnings to cover regular bills. (3)
Some side hustlers may notice their workloads and income decline as AI becomes more widely embraced. And there’s already evidence of that.
A 2023 Washington University in St. Louis report (4) found that AI triggered a decline in freelance work and income.
Following the release of ChatGPT, it claimed writing jobs on the freelance platform Upwork fell by 2%, while monthly earnings fell by 5.2%. It also discovered that designers and artists saw a 3.7% decline in jobs and a 9.4% drop in income following the release of DALL-E and Midjourney, two image-based AI tools.
TurboTax found that freelance graphic design work was the most in-demand side hustle in certain parts of the country. If more companies use AI to cover that need, it could leave a lot of people in that field struggling to make ends meet.
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There are lots of benefits to having a side hustle. The extra money could be what’s helping you pay your bills and avoid debt.
A side hustle could also be your ticket to meeting financial goals, from building an emergency fund to saving up a home down payment to accumulating a retirement nest egg. Alternatively, it may be something you do for extra discretionary income.
It’s natural to want to protect your side hustle, no matter what you use the extra money for.
However, it’s important to accept the reality that AI may have an impact on them and that certain side hustles could become harder to snag as companies learn to embrace AI and develop better tools.
At the same time, AI could be instrumental in helping people build side hustles. It could help you automate certain tasks and do your work more efficiently, allowing you to boost your income. Plus, AI could help you find more work or put together project proposals to grow your client base.
The lesson here is to recognize that AI isn’t going away and to embrace rather than fight it. Learn how to use AI to your advantage rather than hope it will go away. If you’re able to master AI tools that are useful in your field, it could help you attract and retain clients.
You may also want to focus on boosting skills that a computer can’t emulate. If you’re a writer or graphic designer, find creative new ways to approach your projects — things a machine may not think of. Develop your critical thinking skills and work on your interpersonal skills.
If your current side hustle is particularly vulnerable to AI, you may want to find a backup side hustle that only a human can do. Side hustles less likely to be taken over by AI include dog walking, pet sitting, rideshare and delivery services and handyman services.
It’s also important to budget carefully if you rely on your side hustle income to cover your essential bills and are worried AI will take some of your work away.
Prioritize essential spending and aim to cut back on discretionary items like restaurant meals until things stabilize in your industry. Moreover, do your best to build an emergency fund to cover you if the side hustle you depend on disappears.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll (5) found that 71% of Americans fear that AI will take their jobs permanently. That scary thought can be made less scary if you have a backup plan and as large a financial cushion as possible to help you, if necessary, pivot professionally.
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Business Insider (1); Gig Economy Data Hub (2); Turbo Tax (3); WashU (4); Reuters (5).
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
