In Nairobi, Kenya, Teresios Bundi’s story reflects the dramatic shifts reshaping the global online gig economy as artificial intelligence (AI) technologies disrupt established ways of earning a living. Bundi, who began writing essays for American college students in 2011, once earned a modest income by completing academic assignments remotely. Over the next decade, he wrote thousands of essays, sometimes producing three per day, turning this work into a lucrative business that at its peak employed students and generated earnings surpassing typical salaries in Kenya’s public health sector.

This form of gig work emerged alongside Kenya’s broader digital outsourcing boom following the rollout of affordable high-speed internet around 2009. The Kenyan government actively promoted digital freelancing, including transcription, data entry, and graphic design, as a tool to combat high youth unemployment and underemployment, with about 80 percent of the workforce engaged in informal jobs and youth unemployment exceeding 25 percent. Although essay writing was never officially endorsed, it flourished within this digital economy, with some estimates suggesting that up to 40,000 people in Nairobi alone were involved in writing academic papers for overseas students.

However, the arrival of AI technologies, especially following the 2022 release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, swiftly altered this landscape. Essay assignments declined sharply as students increasingly turned to AI for writing assistance. Rates for essay writing dropped, and many workers saw their livelihoods evaporate overnight. Bundi describes the shift with regret, acknowledging that AI’s evolution displaced not only essay writers but others engaged in transcription and content moderation jobs. Some workers, like Frida Mwangi, who had transitioned to transcription jobs, watched their roles diminish as AI software became able to handle such tasks, often requiring workers to spend more time correcting machine errors rather than performing original work.

While the essay-writing business contracted dramatically, a small market remains for “humanizers” who refine AI-generated content to bypass plagiarism detection tools used by universities. New entrants like Alphline, who began essay writing in 2021, leverage AI to draft essays quickly before applying their own editing to maintain a human touch, noting that AI-generated work is often identifiable to experienced writers.

The transformation poses broader questions about Kenya’s digital economy and its role as a hub for outsourcing and gig work. Government officials maintain optimism about the sector’s potential to create opportunities, with initiatives such as the 2022 National Digital Masterplan emphasizing long-term investments in digital skills and online employment. Still, the transition has left many workers struggling to find stable employment, as the disruption from AI hits low- and mid-skill jobs hardest.

For Bundi, the disruption has brought personal challenges. Having foregone a traditional public health career, he now works with a German development agency to help youth navigate digital opportunities, reflecting on how rapidly technological advances can overturn carefully built livelihoods. As AI continues advancing, experts warn that such labor market upheavals are unlikely to remain confined to Kenya, signaling a global transformation affecting various professions beyond gig work.