Productivity and salaries boosted in sectors exposed to AI: study

LONDON, United Kingdom — Sectors exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) are seeing rising productivity and faster growth in salaries, a PwC study published on Tuesday said, even as the technology provokes job insecurity concerns.

Skills which are easily transferable to AI, such as in finance or computer science, have seen “almost fivefold greater labor productivity growth”, the global consultancy said.

Job offers requiring AI skills are on the rise, at a rate 3.5 times faster than the average, according to the study of more than 500 million job offers in over 15 countries.

In the United States, Canada, Australia, and Singapore — the labor markets where data is available — salaries can also be up to 25 percent higher, the study said.

PwC said that indicated that “those who adapt may enjoy vast new opportunities”, notwithstanding concerns about the impact of AI on jobs and business.

READ: Boost your bottom line: Harness the power of artificial intelligence for greater profitability

Technology could as a result “allow many nations to break out of persistent low productivity growth, generating economic development, higher wages, and enhanced living standards”, it added.

Carol Stubbings, global markets and tax and legal services leader at PwC, said that as workers will need to build new skills, organizations will also have to invest in new AI strategies and people.

A separate study published in March by the British Institute for Public Policy Research think tank warned that the rise of AI could threaten nearly eight million UK jobs.

But it said an “apocalypse” for jobs could be avoided by encouraging employee upskilling while some tasks are automated.

Adecco, the world’s biggest temping agency, has also urged firms to better prepare their staff for the arrival of AI.

Its survey of chief financial officers in nine countries indicated that most felt ill-equipped to manage the technological transition.