Part 4/11:
One of the most compelling indicators of AI's influence is what researchers term "the great decoupling." This phenomenon describes the divergence between rising corporate profits and the declining employment levels. Despite a record-high corporate profit share of around 11-12% of GDP, payroll figures have decreased by about 1%.
This paradoxical trend signals that companies are generating more value with fewer human workers, a pattern historically associated with automation sweeping across sectors. For example, over the past two centuries, efficiency in agriculture has dramatically increased—going from employing over 70% of the population a century ago to just 2% today. Similar shifts are now manifesting in other industries, amplified by AI's capabilities.