Study provides 'early evidence' that AI could be holding back US wage growth and reducing living standards (www.techradar.com)

A recent study by Apollo Global Management reveals that AI's impact on wage growth is more pronounced than previously thought, with many workers experiencing slower salary increases due to productivity gains driven by AI. The report highlights that real wage growth in occupations highly exposed to AI has lagged behind their less-exposed counterparts by 6.7 percentage points since 2023, affecting approximately 5.8 million US workers—about 3.7% of the labor force. This trend suggests that rather than leading to job cuts, AI is contributing to wage compression where companies benefit from higher productivity without proportionately increasing wages. The implications of these findings are significant, as the study estimates a potential loss of around $28 billion in annual labor income due to this wage stagnation. With many workers' bargaining power weakened in a human-AI hybrid workforce, this trend raises concerns about increasing income inequality and declining living standards. The report calls for greater government involvement and policymaking to address these issues and support affected workers as the labor market continues to evolve in response to AI advancements.