Economist Justin Wolfers Warns AI Could Leave Workers Earning ‘Two Pennies an Hour’ While OpenAI Gets ‘Infinitely Rich’

Economist Justin Wolfers warned that artificial intelligence could eventually eliminate most jobs, leaving workers competing for wages “two pennies an hour above subsistence” while a AI developers like OpenAI grow “infinitely rich” off the technology. ‘They Forgot to Ask’ Wolfers, in his podcast ‘The Professor Is In,’ released Monday, said AI has given new urgency to the case for universal basic income, calling it a payment society is owed rather than a form of redistribution. He noted that companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) “created a few lines of code,” while it was the rest of society that “created all the world’s knowledge” those AI models were trained on, “and we never charged them for it.” “They forgot to ask,” he said, adding that “we live lives of grinding misery while OpenAI gets infinitely rich as the only productive force in the economy.” Read Also: Senator Rand Paul Sounds Alarm on Trump’s $5,000 Checks: ‘Piling on More Debt’ Won’t Fix Affordability Crisis Some Workers Could Come Out Ahead Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley economist Heather Berger said that the workers most exposed to AI disruption could also capture some of its biggest gains. High-income, college-educated, city-dwelling workers stand to benefit from AI-driven productivity gains, new job creation, and long-term disinflation, even as younger workers face greater risk of AI replacing entry-level tasks. Palantir CEO Alex Karp warned in July that AI could become America’s “biggest driver of wealth inequality,” with AI industry leaders potentially becoming “10 to 100 times wealthier” while ordinary workers see far smaller gains than in past technological revolutions. A Widening Pay Gap Advertised pay in the most AI-exposed occupations has surged 46% since the start of 2021, compared with 41% growth in moderately AI-exposed jobs, 39% across all U.S. postings, and just 25% in the least AI-exposed roles, according to The Kobeissi Letter, citing Indeed data. The gap between these categories began widening materially in mid-2025 and has continued growing throughout the year. AI-exposed jobs are seeing the largest pay growth in the US:Advertised pay in the most AI-exposed occupations has surged +46% since the start of 2021.At the same time, moderately AI-exposed jobs have seen +41% growth.This compares to a +39% increase in all US posted wages… pic.twitter.com/gdr6qveJFk— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) September 21, 2026 In August, the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs, sharply beating estimates of 56,000, while unemployment held steady at 4.1% and average hourly earnings rose 3.1% year-over-year. Read Also: Trump Says US Negotiating ‘Massive’ Belarus Potash Deal Amid Trade Tussle With Canada, Putin Ally Cites Shortage: ‘We Simply Do Not Have…’ Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock