AI gutted Kenya's essay industry. 40,000 jobs went
The Next Web
Kenya's essay writing industry, which employed at least 40,000 people in Nairobi at its peak, collapsed after the introduction of AI tools like ChatGPT, which made human writers redundant. The country had previously bet on outsourcing and gig work as a solution to high youth unemployment and poverty, but AI disrupted this sector, forcing workers into lower-paying, AI-assisted roles. Despite government efforts to promote digital work, the decline of the essay industry highlights the challenges faced by Kenyan gig workers in the age of automation.
All articles from 7 September 2026. Summaries are AI-generated and may contain errors; the linked article is the authority.