Does better work always mean better workers?
A three-month field experiment with 133 patent lawyers found that access to a Google Labs AI patent-writing assistant raised drafting scores by 0.34 SD at 10 days and 0.38 SD at 90 days, with gains concentrated in fewer poor scores rather than more excellent ones. On a later redlining task where AI was not allowed, the benefit appeared only for senior lawyers (0.45 SD), while juniors showed no discernible improvement and their scores bifurcated toward more very low and more good results. The authors argue that improving output and building durable professional judgment are different goals that may be in tension for junior professionals.
Why it matters: Offers a rare blinded, months-long field test that separates AI-assisted output gains from unassisted skill development, with direct implications for how firms train junior professionals.