The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked concerns about its potential influence on unemployment and market depression. This study addresses this concern by examining the impact of generative AI on product markets. To overcome the challenge of causal inference, given the inherent limitations of conducting controlled experiments, this paper identifies an unanticipated and sudden leak of a highly proficient image-generative AI as a novel instance of a "natural experiment". This AI leak spread rapidly, significantly reducing the cost of generating anime-style images compared to other styles, creating an opportunity for comparative assessment. We collect real-world data from an artwork outsourcing platform. Surprisingly, our results show that while generative AI lowers average prices, it substantially boosts order volume and overall revenue. This counterintuitive finding suggests that generative AI confers benefits upon artists rather than detriments. The study further offers theoretical economic explanations to elucidate this unexpected phenomenon. By furnishing empirical evidence, this paper dispels the notion that generative AI might engender depression, instead underscoring its potential to foster market prosperity. These findings carry significant implications for practitioners, policymakers, and the broader AI community.

翻译：生成式人工智能的兴起引发了对其可能造成失业和市场萧条的担忧。本研究通过考察生成式人工智能对产品市场的影响来应对这一关切。为克服因果推断的挑战（鉴于开展受控实验的内在局限性），本文将一个高度熟练的图像生成式人工智能的一次意外且突然的泄露，识别为“自然实验”的新实例。此次AI泄露迅速传播，显著降低了生成动漫风格图像相对于其他风格的成本，从而创造了比较评估的机会。我们从一家艺术品外包平台收集了真实世界的数据。令人惊讶的是，我们的结果显示，虽然生成式人工智能降低了平均价格，但它显著提升了订单量和总收入。这一反直觉的发现表明，生成式人工智能为艺术家带来了益处而非损害。本研究进一步提供了理论经济学解释，以阐明这一意外现象。通过提供经验证据，本文消除了生成式人工智能可能引发萧条的观念，转而强调其促进市场繁荣的潜力。这些发现对从业者、政策制定者及更广泛的AI领域具有重要启示。