WFH helped create the AI revolution. RTO could pose its biggest problem.
Source: Business Insider ·
The work-from-home revolution reshaped fertility rates, cleaned up city air, and helped fuel AI. Its lasting impact is still being felt.
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Maskot/Getty ImagesThis post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.A baby boom, cleaner air, and AI. The work-from-home revolution might be over, but its impact is still being felt.Many of us have settled into some type of hybrid setup, balancing our days in the office with at least one spent at home.But even if you're in the cubicles every day — God bless — the WFH revolution has still affected you.Nick Bloom, a Stanford economist who's a leading expert on remote work, spoke to BI's Aki Ito about six ways the WFH era fundamentally changed things for us all.Some are a bit … personal. Remote work led to a 5% increase in fertility in the US and Northern Europe, according to Bloom's estimates. He summed it up with a line from a friend: "My wife and I discovered she can't get pregnant by email."Other effects were more widespread, such as a reduction in nitrogen dioxide in major cities thanks to the new…