AI makes people more valuable? PwC reveals 6 myths about AI

Translated by: MetaverseHub

The latest research by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that despite widespread concerns that artificial intelligence will replace jobs and cut employee wages through automation, in fact, AI makes humans "more valuable, not less valuable."

PwC Global AI CEO Joe Atkinson said: "The reason people are anxious in this environment is the speed of technological innovation. The reality is that technological innovation is advancing at an unprecedented pace." 

Atkinson mentioned: "The report actually shows that AI is creating jobs."

PwC UK Global Chief Commercial Officer Carol Stubbings pointed out: "We know that every industrial revolution has created more jobs than it has lost. The challenge is that the skills required for new jobs may be very different to the old jobs."

According to the 2025 AI Employment Barometer, the number of jobs and salaries in almost all "AI-related occupations", that is, jobs that include tasks that can be handled by AI technology, including customer service staff, software programmers and other highly automated jobs, are growing.

“Every time we’ve had an industrial revolution, more jobs have been created than lost,” Stubbings said. “We believe the challenge is not that there aren’t jobs, but that workers need to be prepared to fill the new jobs.”

The report analyzed more than 800 million job ads and thousands of corporate financial reports across six continents to dispel six common myths about the impact of AI.

Productivity

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

However, the report found that since 2022, industries "most suited to adopting AI" have seen productivity increase nearly fourfold, while industries with the lowest AI penetration, such as physical therapy, have seen productivity decline slightly. PwC data shows that per capita income in industries with high AI penetration, such as software publishing, has grown three times faster than other industries.

Salaries

Myth: AI will weaken workers' salary levels and bargaining power.

PwC data shows that workers with AI skills have an average salary that is 56% higher than workers without these skills in the same occupation, up from 25% last year. In addition, wages in industries most vulnerable to AI are growing twice as fast as those in industries least affected by AI.

Number of jobs

Myth: AI could lead to fewer jobs.

The report found that while employment in low-AI-penetration occupations grew 65% between 2019 and 2024, even in high-AI-penetration occupations, job growth remained strong (38%).

Inequality

Myth: AI will exacerbate inequality of opportunity and wages.

Contrary to concerns that AI will exacerbate inequality, the report’s findings show that wages and employment are rising for jobs that can be augmented and automated by the technology.

The requirements for formal education for AI-related jobs are falling faster, creating a wider range of opportunities for “millions of people,” the report noted.  

Skills

Myth: AI will “deskill” automated jobs.

Instead, AI can free workers from mundane tasks to practice more complex skills and decision-making, enriching jobs that can be automated, the report found. For example, data entry clerks can evolve into “higher value” roles, such as data analysts, according to PwC.

Automation

Myth: AI will devalue highly automated jobs.

Data shows that not only are salaries for highly automated jobs rising, but technology is also reshaping these jobs to be more “complex and creative,” ultimately making humans more valuable.

Will AI help moderate job growth?

The study also offers another perspective: Against the backdrop of a decline in the working-age population in many countries, "modest job growth" in AI-related occupations may even help.

Atkinson said that the productivity gains brought by AI can have a "multiplier effect" on the existing workforce, filling job gaps that companies could not otherwise meet, while driving business growth.

"We have seen this trend in productivity data, and it is absolutely and will be a good thing."

The report ultimately emphasizes that AI should be seen as a "growth strategy, not an efficiency strategy." Companies should not only use AI to cut labor costs, but also help employees adapt to changes and jointly create new opportunities, open up new markets and revenue sources.

The report states: "It is critical to avoid falling into the trap of low goals. Rather than limiting ourselves to automating old jobs, we should create new jobs and industries for the future."

"If AI is used more flexibly, it could give rise to a large number of new jobs and business models. For example, two-thirds of jobs in the United States today did not exist in 1940, and many of these new jobs were created by technological advances."