What is the impact of AI on wages across different skill and income categories?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has varied impacts on wages across skill and income categories, often exacerbating inequality. More educated and high-wage workers tend to adopt and use AI, which may widen labor market disparities by favoring those already in higher income brackets [9]. Studies across OECD countries show AI exposure links to increased wage inequality, particularly through occupational differences, while inter-industry shifts driven by AI further amplify wage gaps between sectors rather than labor supply changes [1][3]. In Europe, AI skills confer a wage premium, but this varies by job design and performance management, suggesting rewards for skilled workers while potentially devaluing expertise in other areas [4][8]. However, some evidence indicates AI can mitigate inequality by enabling lower-skill workers to perform higher-skill tasks, reducing overall wage gaps and boosting average wages by up to 21% [7]. In contexts like China, AI influences wages alongside employment scale in manufacturing, though specific distributional effects depend on adoption levels [10]. Overall, while high-skill categories see wage gains, low-skill and low-income groups face risks of suppression unless complemented by policies like labor regulations [2][12]. The sources provide directional insights but lack comprehensive, uniform data across all categories.