There is new evidence that artificial intelligence could be a great antidote to job inequality.
Experts disagree about the effects that AI will have on American job markets, with the only real consensus so far being that it will be a major disruption.
But a new paper from Stanford University says some of the disruptions will be needed to bring positive change, such as raising wages for those in lower-paying jobs.
That would happen as those lower-earning workers are paired with AI to share their duties.
The AI's knowledge and efficiencies coupled with workers' ability to take physical and mental action would raise workers' productivity, increasing those workers' value to the company, and that could see pay increases by 20% or more over the next few years.
"A rising tide lifts all boats," is one way cyber expert Jon Schultz sees it.
Pairing workers with AI would raise the tide of jobs and their paychecks, he says, and if organizations leverage their workers in the correct way, "their value to the organization goes up exponentially."
The use of AI in working with those employees could eliminate the need for supervisors who watch the clock and count employee keystrokes, and the Human Resources managers who keep track of absences, work hours and attitudes -- the AI will it do it for the companies in the form of daily or even minute-by-minute reports on employee behaviors.
"I think we might need fewer mid-level managers as a result and more workers to basically get things out the door faster and cheaper," Schultz says.
One of the points of the Stanford study and Mr. Schultz's interpretation of its findings is that the prevailing idea that AI is going to eliminate millions of jobs right away is probably false, barring some unexpected events.
"I actually don't see a reduction in workforce other than possibly mid-level managers," he says in conclusion.