YoungJin Kwon

I will be on the job market 2025-2026 year!

I examine how emerging technologies are reshaping creator economy (e.g., visual artists and musicians), with a particular focus on the rise of blockchain-based digital asset markets and advancements in generative AI.

• Blockchain-Based Digital Asset Markets: I explore the “yin and yang” of NFT markets, beginning with an investigation into the different types of NFT collectors and how their investment performance shifts across boom-bust cycles (Study 1). I then examine how the decentralized nature of NFT markets might help address longstanding gender and racial disparities in traditional art markets (Study 2). On the flip side, I also study how these largely unregulated markets enable manipulative behaviors—such as wash trading—that can ultimately contribute to market crashes (Study 3).
• GenAI Creativity and Productivity: In this line of research, I investigate how people perceive and value art co-created by humans and AI, applying techniques from the field of Computational Aesthetics (Study 4). I also examine how large language models (LLMs) affect knowledge workers’ productivity, with preliminary findings suggesting that while LLMs contribute to overall productivity gains, they may also exacerbate existing disparities among researchers (Study 5).