Anthropic Economic Index
/ænˈθrɒpɪk ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk ˈɪndɛks/
Also known as: AEI, Anthropic AI labor data
What Is the Anthropic Economic Index?
The Anthropic Economic Index is a public dataset that measures how people are using Claude across different occupations and industries. By analyzing anonymized, privacy-preserving summaries of conversations, Anthropic can map which types of work are being augmented or replaced by AI — and release that data for external economists to study.
The index represents one of the first systematic attempts by an AI company to provide transparency about its technology’s economic impact. It ties usage patterns to real occupational categories, enabling researchers to track how AI is affecting specific jobs over time.
Why It Matters
Before the Anthropic Economic Index, economists studying AI’s labor market impact had to rely on surveys, anecdotes, or theoretical models. The index provides actual behavioral data about how people use AI in their work, broken down by occupation and geography (including state-level views in the US).
Jack Clark argues this kind of data is essential for activating policy responses: elected officials need to see how AI affects their specific constituents, not abstract national trends.
Related Reading
- Jack Clark — Led the creation of the index
- Knowledge Work Disruption — The trend the index measures
Mentioned In
Jack Clark
The whole purpose of what we released in the form of the Anthropic Economic Index is the ability to have data that ties to occupations that tie to real jobs in the economy. We do that very intentionally because it is building a map over time of how this AI is making its way into different jobs.