Exponential Shift: Humans Adapt to AI Economies

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: McNamara, Kevin J, Marpu, Rhea Pritham
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author McNamara, Kevin J
Marpu, Rhea Pritham
author_facet McNamara, Kevin J
Marpu, Rhea Pritham
contents This paper explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are transforming the global labor market. Human workers, limited to a 33% duty cycle due to rest and holidays, cost $14 to $55 per hour. In contrast, digital labor operates nearly 24/7 at just $0.10 to $0.50 per hour. We examine sectors like healthcare, education, manufacturing, and retail, finding that 40-70% of tasks could be automated. Yet, human skills like emotional intelligence and adaptability remain essential. Humans process 5,000-20,000 tokens (units of information) per hour, while AI far exceeds this, though its energy use-3.5 to 7 times higher than humans-could offset 20-40% of cost savings. Using real-world examples, such as AI in journalism and law, we illustrate these dynamics and propose six strategies-like a 4-day workweek and retraining-to ensure a fair transition to an AI-driven economy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_08855
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Exponential Shift: Humans Adapt to AI Economies
McNamara, Kevin J
Marpu, Rhea Pritham
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Emerging Technologies
This paper explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are transforming the global labor market. Human workers, limited to a 33% duty cycle due to rest and holidays, cost $14 to $55 per hour. In contrast, digital labor operates nearly 24/7 at just $0.10 to $0.50 per hour. We examine sectors like healthcare, education, manufacturing, and retail, finding that 40-70% of tasks could be automated. Yet, human skills like emotional intelligence and adaptability remain essential. Humans process 5,000-20,000 tokens (units of information) per hour, while AI far exceeds this, though its energy use-3.5 to 7 times higher than humans-could offset 20-40% of cost savings. Using real-world examples, such as AI in journalism and law, we illustrate these dynamics and propose six strategies-like a 4-day workweek and retraining-to ensure a fair transition to an AI-driven economy.
title Exponential Shift: Humans Adapt to AI Economies
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Emerging Technologies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.08855