Adam Grant
Wharton Organizational Psychologist | #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Think Again & Hidden Potential | Top TED Speaker | Host of Re:Thinking
Bharat Chandar
Research Director, AI Economics & Policy, Stanford Digital Economy Lab | Co-Author, Canaries in the Coal Mine? | Former Uber Economist | AI & Future of Work Expert
AI is already changing who gets hired, and Bharat Chandar has some of the strongest evidence to prove it. A Stanford labor economist and co-author of the landmark Canaries in the Coal Mine? study, he tracks AI's real effect on jobs using payroll data from millions of workers. His talks give leaders a clear picture of where their workforce is exposed and how to rebuild talent pipelines for an AI economy.
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Bharat Chandar biography
Bharat Chandar is a labor economist at Stanford whose research has become a central reference point in the debate over how artificial intelligence is changing work. He is Research Scholar and Research Director for AI Economics and Policy at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, part of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).
Future of work speaker Bharat Chandar is best known for co-authoring, with Erik Brynjolfsson and Ruyu Chen, “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence.” Using high-frequency records from ADP, the largest payroll software provider in the United States, the study produced some of the earliest large-scale evidence that AI is already reshaping hiring. Since generative AI went mainstream, workers aged 22 to 25 in the most exposed occupations, such as software development and customer service, have seen a double-digit relative decline in employment, even after accounting for company-level shocks, while more experienced colleagues in the same roles have held steady or grown. Companies are adjusting through headcount rather than pay, and the declines cluster where AI automates work rather than augments it. The results hold even when technology firms and remote-friendly jobs are excluded. Updated as new data arrives, the findings have been covered by TIME, CBS News, Fortune, and Bloomberg.
His wider agenda asks how workers will adjust if AI changes who gets hired, how AI can help people learn new skills, and how its effects differ across countries. A recent study examines how AI adoption is changing labor demand across 41 countries, and his widely read survey, “AI and Labor Markets: What We Know and Don’t Know,” separates established findings from open questions.
From Uber to Stanford
Before his doctoral work, Chandar spent two years as an economist at Uber, studying how tipping, ratings, and behavioral nudges shape service quality, research later published in Management Science with Susan Athey and Juan Camilo Castillo. He holds a PhD in economics from Stanford Graduate School of Business, plus an MS in statistics and a BA in economics from the University of Chicago. He also writes for Project Syndicate and his Substack, What’s Next.
As a speaker, Bharat Chandar replaces speculation with evidence. He has presented at DLD Munich and advised business leaders and policymakers on the economic effects of AI, showing audiences which roles are most exposed, where AI automates tasks versus augments people, and how to redesign hiring, onboarding, and career paths before the entry-level pipeline thins out. Senior teams leave with a clear, data-grounded view of what AI is doing to their own workforce and what to do next.
Bharat Chandar Speaking Videos
How to Survive in the Age of AI According to a Stanford Economist - Bharat Chandar
Bharat Chandar | Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of AI
Bharat Chandar Keynote Topics
Miners once carried canaries underground because the birds sensed danger before anyone else could. In this keynote, Bharat Chandar presents the labor market's equivalent: the early-career workers whose job prospects are showing the first measurable effects of generative AI. Drawing on his landmark Stanford research with Erik Brynjolfsson and Ruyu Chen, built on payroll records for millions of Americans from ADP, the country's largest payroll software provider, he walks audiences through the six facts that have reshaped the global debate on AI and work.
Leaders learn why the impact is concentrated among workers aged 22 to 25 in the most exposed occupations, why their more experienced colleagues have so far been spared, why companies are adjusting through hiring rather than pay, and why the declines appear where AI automates tasks rather than augments people. Chandar also shows how the findings hold up against alternative explanations, including company-level shocks, tech-sector dynamics, and remote work, and what the latest data reveals as the trend develops. Audiences leave with a rigorous, evidence-based reading of where AI is changing their own talent pipeline and which signals to watch next.
For generations, companies grew their future leaders the same way: hire at entry level, teach the fundamentals, promote from within. As AI absorbs more of the tasks that once filled junior roles, that model is starting to break. Chandar explains what the evidence shows about the shrinking first rung of the career ladder and introduces the career lattice, a structure in which people build skills across functions and advance through lateral as well as upward moves.
Designed for CHROs, CLOs, and leadership development teams, the session offers practical ways to rethink onboarding, mentorship, and rotational programs so organizations keep developing talent even as entry-level work changes.
AI's impact on work will not look the same in every economy. Based on his research on AI adoption and labor demand across 41 countries, Chandar compares how companies in different markets are using AI, which workers gain or lose ground, and why national context matters. He also lays out what researchers know with confidence and what remains genuinely uncertain, giving global leaders and policymakers a sober framework for planning workforce strategy across regions.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Bharat Chandar
Why Bharat Chandar?
Booking Bharat Chandar gives your audience direct access to the research that is defining how the world understands AI's impact on jobs. As Research Director for AI Economics and Policy at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and co-author of the widely cited Canaries in the Coal Mine? study, he works with real payroll data covering millions of workers, not predictions. On stage, he turns that evidence into practical guidance: which roles are most exposed, how hiring is already shifting, and how organizations can redesign talent pipelines, reskilling, and career paths before the gaps appear. His background as an economist at Uber also gives him a practitioner's sense of how technology plays out inside companies. For HR leadership meetings, executive retreats, and conferences on AI, the future of work, or economics, he is one of the most credible and timely voices available. Contact Aurum Speakers Bureau to check his availability for your event.
What did Bharat Chandar's Canaries in the Coal Mine? study find?
The study, co-authored by Bharat Chandar with Erik Brynjolfsson and Ruyu Chen at the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, used high-frequency ADP payroll data on millions of U.S. workers to track employment in jobs exposed to generative AI. It found that early-career workers, roughly ages 22 to 25, in highly exposed occupations such as software development and customer service experienced a double-digit relative decline in employment compared with less exposed jobs, while older and more experienced workers in the same occupations were largely unaffected. The effects were strongest where AI is used to automate tasks rather than augment workers. The authors have updated the analysis as new data has arrived, and it remains one of the earliest large-scale pieces of evidence that AI is already reshaping hiring.
Is AI causing mass job losses, according to Bharat Chandar?
Not so far. Chandar's research does not show widespread displacement across the U.S. workforce. What it does show is a narrower and earlier signal: hiring for young, entry-level workers in AI-exposed occupations has weakened relative to other jobs, and that gap has grown as more data has come in. He argues that this matters because entry-level roles are where people build skills and where companies develop future leaders. He is also careful to separate what researchers know from what remains uncertain, including how AI will affect incomes, job matching, and countries outside the United States.
What topics does future of work speaker Bharat Chandar cover?
Bharat Chandar speaks on the measurable impact of AI on employment and hiring, the decline of traditional entry-level roles and how to rebuild talent pipelines, reskilling and career design for an AI economy, the difference between AI that automates and AI that augments, and how AI adoption is changing labor demand around the world. His talks suit HR and leadership development audiences, executive teams planning AI strategy, and conferences focused on technology, economics, and the future of work. Aurum Speakers Bureau can work with you to tailor his session to your audience and industry.
How to book Bharat Chandar as a keynote speaker?
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How much is Bharat Chandar speaking fee?
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Can I book Bharat Chandar for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Bharat Chandar is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Bharat Chandar for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
