HSE Researchers Assess Creative Industry Losses from Use of GenAI
Speaking at the IPQuorum.Music forum on October 15, Leonid Gokhberg, HSE First Vice Rector, and Daniil Kudrin, an expert at the Centre for Industry and Corporate Projects of HSE ISSEK, presented the findings of the first study in Russia on the economic impact of GenAI on creative professions. The analysis shows that creators’ potential losses could reach one trillion roubles by 2030.
The pace of technological innovation is accelerating every year: while it took the telephone 75 years to 'take over the world,' DeepSeek reached 100 million users in just two weeks. Today, GenAI models are rapidly gaining popularity, enabling users to generate text, video, images, and audio. There are now at least 1,000 AI models on the market designed for creative tasks and capable of competing with human creators.
Experts at HSE ISSEK have developed a unique methodology for quantifying the losses faced by authors and copyright holders as a result of the adoption of AI. The study focuses on 12 creative professions that are most vulnerable to GenAI. For the first time, researchers have estimated the share of generative content in different types of creative work and assessed the income decline experienced by 'traditional' creators who do not use neural networks. Notably, the study deliberately excludes the potential positive effects of AI, such as increased productivity and reduced barriers to entry.
The findings indicate that total income losses for members of creative professions could reach 1 trillion roubles by 2030. Programmers and developers, as well as advertising and marketing specialists, are expected to be hit the hardest. Generative models have brought new players into the creative industries, including both institutional actors—such as IT companies, developers, and digital platforms—and individuals, such as amateur creators. The production and distribution of AI-generated content by these new players pose a serious threat to the revenues of writers, translators, journalists, and composers: according to experts, AI penetration in these professions will exceed 25%.
'We live in an era of exponential digital development,' says Leonid Gokhberg, First Vice Rector of HSE University. 'Innovation cannot be stopped, but it is crucial to foster a balanced dialogue between creators, technology companies, and the government. GenAI should not become a threat to creative professions. Rather, it should be viewed as a tool that complements human imagination, not replaces it.'
The researchers emphasise that current AI solutions are still far from fully replacing humans, as generative models are prone to 'hallucinations' and errors, and can pose reputational risks. In practice, AI often serves as an assistant, helping creators with editing, reference selection, translation, and technical problem-solving.
The HSE ISSEK study represents the first step toward a systematic analysis of GenAI’s impact on the intellectual property market and toward developing solutions that balance innovation with the protection of creators’ interests.
A full recording of the plenary session 'Authors in the Service of AI' is available here.
See also:
Physicists at HSE University and FIAN Discover Way to 'Photograph' Sound for Testing Materials Used in 6G Communications
Researchers at HSE University, in collaboration with colleagues from the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN), have developed a method for rapidly determining how firmly a film is bonded to a substrate. This is important for the creation of ultrahigh-frequency acoustic filters, which are key components of next-generation 5G and 6G communications. For the first time, researchers have succeeded in measuring the lateral rigidity of the bond between a two-dimensional material film and a substrate in this way. The study results have been published in Applied Physics Letters.
AI for Doctors: HSE Faculty of Computer Science Delivers Course for Russian University of Medicine Students
In June 2026, the HSE Faculty of Computer Science (FCS) completed a course on the use of artificial intelligence in medicine for first-year Paediatrics students at the Russian University of Medicine. The course was delivered with support from a grant awarded to HSE University under the Artificial Intelligence federal project, part of the national project ‘Data Economy and the Digital Transformation of the State.’
HSE University to Launch New AI Supercomputer
HSE University is preparing to launch its second supercomputer. The new cluster will be primarily dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and will complement the existing cHARISMa supercomputer. It is scheduled to become operational by the end of 2026.
HSE MIEM Students to Develop Two Satellites from Scratch for Orbital Experiments
The devices, created by student teams, will conduct space research on the properties of promising solar cells, on-board energy storage systems, and serial electronics for student satellites.
Biologists Discover Unique Properties of MiR-93-5p MicroRNA in Prostate Cancer
Researchers at the International Laboratory of Microphysiological Systems of the HSE Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology investigated how different isoforms of the same microRNA influence gene function in prostate adenocarcinoma. The study found that in some cases, microRNAs can reinforce each other’s effects by targeting and suppressing the same genes. This finding offers a fresh perspective on the molecular mechanisms underlying tumour development and on the search for disease biomarkers. The results have been published in PeerJ.
Researchers Discover How Spelling Errors Slow Down Reading in Russian
Psycholinguists from the Centre for Language and Brain at HSE University–St Petersburg have shown that words that are frequently misspelled are processed more slowly by readers, even when presented with the correct spelling. The researchers confirmed this effect for the first time using Russian-language materials and found that response speed is most strongly linked to how confidently individuals can distinguish the correct spelling of a word from an incorrect one. The study has been published in The Mental Lexicon.
Scientists Discover Why Europium 'Misbehaves'
Europium is a rare-earth metal responsible for the pure red glow in displays and other luminescent materials. For a long time, however, it refused to emit light when surrounded by certain organic molecules known as acylpyrazolone ligands. Chemists have now uncovered the reason: in europium complexes with these ligands, a 'black window' appears—a charge-transfer state in which the energy absorbed by the ligand is dissipated as heat rather than emitted as light. Understanding this mechanism opens the way to designing more efficient red-emitting materials for displays, fluorescent thermometers, and chemical sensors. The results have been published in Dalton Transactions.
HSE Economists Reveal How the Wage Gap Emerges Among Vocational School Graduates
HSE researchers examined the careers of 600,000 graduates of Russian secondary vocational education programmes and found that at the start of their careers, the gender wage gap reaches 23%, doubling after three years. This disparity is largely due to male and female students choosing different occupations when enrolling in vocational schools. These were the findings made by Sergey Roshchin, Natalya Yemelina, and Ksenia Rozhkova from of the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences. The article has been published in Educational Studies.
HSE Researchers Make Aldehydes Perform Dual Function
Chemists from HSE University have discovered a way to carry out a reductive addition reaction without using an external reducing agent. Instead, the required 'resource' is supplied by the aldehyde itself, one of the reaction participants. This approach helps prevent unwanted side reactions, reduces toxicity, and simplifies the production and synthesis of organic molecules, including those used in the manufacture of medicines. The study has been published in Journal of Catalysis.
HSE & VK Engineering and Mathematics School Showcases 13 Projects at 10th Demo Day
The 10th Demo Day of the Joint HSE & VK Engineering and Mathematics School was held at the VK Moscow office. Students of the three workshops presented the results of 13 projects in the fields of artificial intelligence, information security, and digital platforms. Students worked on the development of recommendation services, systems for psycholinguistic text analysis and speech processing, methods for identifying celebrities in videos, algorithms for determining the toxicity of memes, security mechanisms for AI systems, and approaches to improving the effectiveness of neural network models.