Busting AI Myths: How AI Boosts Worker Value

Published Date : 06/06/2025 

PwC's 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer report challenges common misconceptions about AI, revealing that the technology actually makes workers more valuable and creates new job opportunities. 

Despite widespread fears that artificial intelligence (AI) could automate jobs and cut employees' wages, new research by professional services firm PwC has found that AI actually makes people 'more valuable, not less.' This insight comes from PwC's 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer report, which analyzed over 800 million job ads and thousands of company financial reports across six continents.

Joe Atkinson, PwC Global Chief AI Officer, explained to CNBC Make It, 'What causes people to react in this environment is the speed of the tech innovation. The reality is that the tech innovation is moving really, really fast. It's moving at a pace that we've never seen in a tech innovation before.'

The report suggests that AI is creating jobs, not eliminating them. Carol Stubbings, PwC UK's Global Chief Commercial Officer, noted, 'We know that every time we have an industrial revolution, there are more jobs created than lost. The challenge is that the skills workers need for the new jobs can be quite different.'

In fact, both jobs and wages are growing in 'virtually every' AI-exposed occupation, including those that are the most automatable, such as customer service workers or software coders. The report challenges six common myths about AI's impact:

1. Productivity

Myth: AI has not yet had a significant impact on productivity.

However, the report found that since 2022, productivity growth in industries 'best positioned to adopt AI' has nearly quadrupled, while falling slightly in industries 'least exposed' to AI, such as physical therapy. Notably, industries most exposed to AI, such as software publishing, showed three times higher growth in revenue per employee, according to PwC's data.

2. Wages

Myth: AI can have a negative impact on workers' wages and bargaining power.

PwC's data showed that the wages of workers with AI skills are on average 56% higher compared to workers without these skills in the same occupation, up from 25% last year. In addition, wages are rising twice as fast in industries most exposed to AI compared to those least exposed.

3. Job Numbers

Myth: AI may lead to a decrease in job numbers.

The report found that while occupations with lower exposure to AI saw strong job growth at 65% between 2019 and 2024, growth remained robust — albeit slower — even in occupations more exposed to the technology (38%).

4. Inequality

Myth: AI may exacerbate inequalities in opportunities and wages for workers.

Contrary to fears that AI will worsen inequality, the report findings show that wages and employment are rising for jobs that are augmentable and automatable by the technology. The report noted that employer demand for formal degrees is declining faster in AI-exposed jobs, creating broader opportunities 'for millions.'

5. Skills

Myth: AI may 'deskill' jobs that it automates.

The report found that instead, AI can enrich automatable jobs by freeing up employees from tedious tasks to practice more complex skills and decision-making. For example, data entry clerks can evolve into a 'higher value' role such as data analysts, according to PwC.

6. Automation

Myth: AI may devalue jobs that it highly automates.

The data shows that not only are wages rising for jobs that are highly automatable, but the technology is also reshaping these jobs to become more 'complex and creative,' and ultimately, make people more valuable.

The study offers another perspective: In a world where many countries have declining working-age populations, softening job growth in AI-exposed occupations could even 'be helpful' and benefit such countries. The productivity boost by AI can actually create a 'multiplier effect' on the available workforce and satisfy the gaps that companies might not have been able to fill otherwise, as well as growth for businesses, said Atkinson.

'It's a prediction supported already by the productivity data we're seeing. I think it could absolutely and will be a good thing,' he added.

Ultimately, the study takes the stance that AI should be treated 'as a growth strategy, not just an efficiency strategy.' Rather than using the technology to cut costs on headcount, companies should help their employees adapt and work together to create new opportunities, claim new markets, and revenue streams. 'It is critical to avoid the trap of low ambition. Instead of limiting our focus to automating yesterday's jobs, let's create the new jobs and industries of the future,' the report said.

'AI, if used with imagination, could spark a flowering of new jobs and new business models. For example, 2/3 of jobs in the U.S. today did not exist in 1940, and many of these new jobs were enabled by advances in technology,' the report added. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: Does AI really make workers more valuable?

A: Yes, according to PwC's 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer report, AI makes workers more valuable by enhancing their skills and creating new job opportunities.

Q: How does AI impact productivity?

A: AI has significantly boosted productivity in industries best positioned to adopt it, with productivity growth nearly quadrupling since 2022.

Q: Will AI lead to a decrease in job numbers?

A: No, the report found that job growth remains robust even in occupations more exposed to AI, although it is slightly slower compared to less exposed occupations.

Q: Does AI exacerbate inequality?

A: Contrary to fears, the report shows that wages and employment are rising for jobs that are augmentable and automatable by AI, creating broader opportunities.

Q: Can AI 'deskill' jobs?

A: No, the report found that AI can enrich automatable jobs by freeing up employees from tedious tasks and allowing them to practice more complex skills. 

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