Innovation
May 6, 2026
María Lombardi
While AI does not eliminate the role of human capital in performance or equalize fundamental abilities, new research finds that it relaxes execution constraints that are more binding for less-educated individuals. But firms and governments must ensure that the workers who stand to benefit the most from these tools can access them.
BUENOS AIRES—Recent AI advances have created widespread expectations of substantial productivity gains. Early studies, such as one showing that AI increased the productivity of customer-support agents by 15% on average (with less-experienced workers getting a much bigger boost), as well as emerging evidence of AI-driven productivity gains in macro data, have further elevated hopes for a boom in output per worker.
