

Metaverse
How AI will divide the best from the rest – Crypto News
Mr Altman’s prediction taps into an established school of thought. As large language models first gained popularity in the early 2020s, economists and bosses were hopeful that they, and other AI tools, would level the playing field, with lower-skilled workers benefiting most. Software capable of handling tasks such as protein-folding and poetry-writing would surely democratise opportunity. Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, a chip designer, envisioned a future in which workers “are all going to be CEOs of AI agents”.
More recent findings have cast doubt on this vision, however. They instead suggest a future in which high-flyers fly still higher—and the rest are left behind. In complex tasks such as research and management, new evidence indicates that high performers are best positioned to work with AI (see table). Evaluating the output of models requires expertise and good judgment. Rather than narrowing disparities, AI is likely to widen workforce divides, much like past technological revolutions.
View Full Image
The case for AI as an equaliser was supported by research showing that the tech enhances output most for less experienced workers. A study in 2023 by Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Danielle Li and Lindsey Raymond of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that generative-AI tools boosted productivity by 34% for novice customer-support workers, helping them resolve queries faster and more effectively. Experienced workers, by contrast, saw little benefit, as the AI reinforced approaches they were already using. This suggested the tech could narrow gaps by transferring best practices from talented to less talented employees.
A similar trend was observed in other knowledge-intensive tasks. Research by Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang, both of MIT, found that weaker writers experienced the greatest improvements in the quality of their work when using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to draft materials such as press releases and reports. Many saw better quality simply by using the AI’s unedited output, underscoring its ability to elevate baseline performance. Similarly, Jonathan Choi of the University of Southern California and co-authors found a general-purpose AI tool improved the quality of legal work, such as drafting contracts, most notably for the least talented law students.
The problem is that this is swamped by another effect. A job can be considered as a bundle of tasks, which tech may either commoditise or assist with. For air-traffic controllers, tech is an augmentation: it processes flight data while leaving decisions to humans, keeping wages high. By contrast, self-check-out systems simplify cashiers’ roles, automating tasks such as calculating change. This lowers the skill requirement, causing wages to stagnate.
View Full Image
Thus despite the early optimism, customer-service agents and other low-skilled workers may face a future akin to cashiers. Their repetitive tasks are susceptible to automation. Amit Zavery of ServiceNow, a business-software company, estimates that more than 85% of customer-service cases for some clients no longer require human involvement. As AI advances, this figure will probably rise, leaving fewer agents to handle only the most complex cases. Although AI may at first boost productivity, its long-term impact will be to commoditise skills and automate tasks.
Unlike earlier automation, which replaced routine jobs such as assembly-line work and book-keeping, AI may extend its reach to non-routine and creative work. It can learn tacitly, recognise patterns and make predictions without explicit instruction; perhaps, in time, it will be able to write entertaining scripts and design useful products. For the moment it seems as though, in high-wage industries, it is junior staff who are the most vulnerable to automation. At A&O Shearman, a law firm, AI tools now handle much of the routine work once done by associates or paralegals. The company’s software can analyse contracts, compare them with past deals and suggest revisions in under 30 seconds. Top performers have been best at using the tech to make strategic decisions, says David Wakeling, the firm’s head of AI.
The shift in recent economic research supports his observation. Although early studies suggested that lower performers could benefit simply by copying AI outputs, newer studies look at more complex tasks, such as scientific research, running a business and investing money. In these contexts, high performers benefit far more than their lower-performing peers. In some cases, less productive workers see no improvement, or even lose ground.
Intelligent design
Aidan Toner-Rodgers of MIT, for instance, found that using an AI tool to assist with materials discovery nearly doubled the productivity of top researchers, while having no measurable impact on the bottom third. The software allowed researchers to specify desired features, then generate candidate materials predicted to possess these properties. Elite scientists, armed with plenty of subject expertise, could identify promising suggestions and discard poor ones. Less effective researchers, by contrast, struggled to filter useful outputs from irrelevant ones (see chart 2).
View Full Image
Similar results have emerged in other areas. Nicholas Otis of the University of California, Berkeley, and co-authors found that stronger Kenyan entrepreneurs raised their profits by over 15% with an AI assistant, and strugglers saw profits fall. The difference lay in how they applied AI recommendations. Low achievers followed generic advice such as doing more advertising; high achievers used AI to find tailored solutions, such as securing new power sources during blackouts (see chart 3).
View Full Image
In financial decision-making, Alex Kim of the University of Chicago and co-authors conducted an experiment where participants used AI to analyse earnings-call transcripts before allocating $1,000 in a simulated portfolio. Sophisticated investors achieved nearly 10% higher returns with AI; less sophisticated investors saw gains of 2%. Seasoned investors made better use of insights from earnings calls such as those concerning R&D spending, share repurchases and operating profit before depreciation and amortisation.
As AI reshapes work, new tasks are emerging. Rajeev Rajan of Atlassian, an office-software firm, says that AI tools free up a couple of hours a week for engineers, allowing them to focus on creative work. Junior lawyers spend less time on chores and more with clients. “Really smart people whomay bebored with analysingroutineearnings releaseswillbenefit the most,” says aboss at a large investment firm. “The skill that is going to be rewarded most in the short run is imaginationin finding creative ways to use AI.” The grunt work of these industries is being automated, allowing junior employees to take on advanced tasks earlier in their careers.
Labour markets have always been defined by the destruction of old roles and the creation of new ones. David Autor of MIT has estimated that 60% or so of work in America in 2018 did not exist in 1940. The job of “airplane designer” was added to the census in the 1950s; “conference planner” arrived in the 1990s. But who will take AI’s new jobs when they emerge? History suggests that technological upheavals favour the skilled. In the Industrial Revolution, engineers who mastered new machinery saw their wages soar as routine labourers lost out. The computer age rewarded software engineers and rendered typists obsolete. AI appears poised to follow a similar path, benefiting those with the judgment, agility and expertise to navigate complex, information-rich environments.
Moreover, today’s AI tools are just the beginning. As the technology grows more sophisticated, semi-autonomous agents capable of acting independently—of the sort envisioned by Mr Huang—may transform workplaces. That might make every worker a CEO of sorts, just as the Nvidia chief executive has predicted. But there will be no levelling-out: the most talented will still make the best CEOs.
© 2025, The Economist Newspaper Ltd. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Change In US Crypto Laws May Affect Charges In Do Kwon’s Criminal Case – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Gold retreats while Fed Powell and President Trump clash over interest rates – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Branded smartwatches under ₹5000 for style and functionality: Top 10 picks for everyday wear – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Best Crypto to Buy as Polymarket Nears $1B Valuation – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Tariffs may be adding a quarter of a percentage point to inflation right now – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Best laptops under ₹40,000 (June 2025) with latest processors, SSD storage, and Windows 11 features, Top 10 picks – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Top 10 air coolers for monsoon: Handpicked products for effective cooling from trusted brands – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
SHIB Price Prediction for June 26 – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
EUR/JPY steadies near 169.00 as traders await the next catalyst – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency6 days ago
Friday charts: Retail is one-upping Wall Street – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
Bitcoin rallies to $106K on Mideast ceasefire news; Circle shares continue explosive climb – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
What next for XRP after breaking above the $2.15 resistance? – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
US judge rules Anthropic’s use of books for AI training is fair use: All you need to know – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Bitcoin Price Could Rally To $110,000 ATH As These Macroeconomic Factors Align – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Cutting Block Times To Boost Performance – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Bank of America, Netflix and Apple Customers Targeted by Widescale Google Search Scams: Report – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI and Jony Ive’s AI hardware ambitions hit roadblock over trademark dispute: Report – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Turkey plans stricter crypto rules to fight money laundering – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Winnebago Industries (WGO) tops Q3 earnings estimates – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
US Housing Chief Orders Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to Prepare for Crypto Assessment in Mortgages – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Too many messages to read? WhatsApp launches AI-enabled summary feature for unread chats. Here’s how it works – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Breakout To $2,800 Or Crash To $2,000? – Crypto News
-
others7 days ago
AI-Focused Layer-1 Blockchain Altcoin SAHARA Flames Out Following New Binance Listing – Crypto News
-
others7 days ago
USD/INR drops to two-week low as Rupee gains on weak US Dollar – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency6 days ago
TRON price forecast as USDT supply surpasses $80 billion – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
US stocks downplay Iran retaliation concerns as indices edge higher – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Taker Buy Volume Spikes Sharply – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
Solana-based StarFun lets projects raise capital with crypto – Crypto News
-
De-fi1 week ago
Synaptogenix Acquires Bittensor’s TAO for AI Crypto Treasury – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Right now, we’re in watch and wait mode – Crypto News
-
De-fi1 week ago
Barclays to Ban Crypto Purchases via Credit Card – Crypto News
-
De-fi1 week ago
Sei Soars 70% as Wallet Growth and On-Chain Activity Hit New Highs – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
Microsoft launches Mu AI model for smart local tasks on Windows PCs – Crypto News
-
De-fi1 week ago
Russia’s Central Bank Pushes CBDC Launch to 2026 – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
Wormhole price jumps 12% amid Ripple’s XRPL integration – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
It isn’t a dream. Tech stocks are breaking out—and the gains can keep coming. – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
Permissionless IV, Day 3 takeaways – Crypto News
-
De-fi7 days ago
U.S Judge Denies Ripple-SEC Request to Lift Injunction and Reduce $125 Million Fine – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency7 days ago
Vodafone Share Price Tests 78p Ahead of July Earnings, Is a Breakout Imminent? – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Lead $1,240,000,000 of Inflows to Crypto Products Despite Geopolitical Tensions: CoinShares – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
German IFO Business Climate Index rises further to 88.4 in June vs. 88.3 expected – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Jerome Powell testifies Fed is well-positioned to wait to learn more about economy – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Aptos and Jump Crypto Launch Shelby, a Web3 Cloud Storage Platform – Crypto News
-
De-fi1 week ago
Dragonfly-Backed Codex Launches Blockchain for Stablecoins with Native USDC Support – Crypto News
-
Technology1 week ago
US judge rules Anthropic’s use of books for AI training is fair use: All you need to know – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
United States 2-Year Note Auction fell from previous 3.955% to 3.786% – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Many Senators Absent From ‘Bipartisan’ Crypto Market Structure Hearing – Crypto News
-
Blockchain1 week ago
Bunker Buster: Ethereum Titans Stake $100 Million Amid US-Iran Hostilities – Crypto News
-
others1 week ago
Australian Dollar advances as US Dollar struggles following Israel-Iran ceasefire – Crypto News
-
Cryptocurrency1 week ago
BTC holds $106K; analysts point to institutional integration, on-chain innovation – Crypto News