AI may be creating more jobs than it eliminates, according to a new study of more than 21,000 US companies, prompting Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal to argue that the technology is raising the ceiling for businesses rather than shrinking their workforce.
Reacting to the findings shared by White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, Nailwal said founders who successfully deploy AI rarely respond by cutting back. Instead, they use the productivity gains to pursue larger ambitions.
“AI was supposed to be eating jobs by now and the data keeps saying the opposite,” Nailwal wrote on X.
He added that many critics wrongly assume companies have a fixed amount of work that automation gradually eliminates.
“The moment a tool actually starts working, the first thing you feel as a founder is that your ceiling just moved up… you double down and scale into the space that just opened.”
Study Finds AI Adoption Boosts Hiring
The discussion followed the release of a study covering 21,559 US firms that analysed AI spending using Ramp’s corporate payment data alongside workforce information from Revelio Labs.
According to the research, companies that invested heavily in AI grew faster after adoption than businesses with limited AI deployment. Firms making the largest AI investments expanded employment by roughly 10% after adopting AI, while companies with lower adoption showed no statistically significant change in hiring.
The study also found that entry-level hiring increased by around 12% among high-intensity AI adopters, challenging the widely held belief that automation would disproportionately eliminate junior roles.
Researchers said the employment gains appeared gradually and were spread across multiple functions, including engineering, sales, administration and customer service.
AI Seen As A Growth Tool
Nailwal’s comments reflect a growing view among technology leaders that AI is becoming a productivity multiplier rather than simply a cost-cutting tool.
Instead of replacing workers, proponents argue that companies use AI to handle repetitive tasks, allowing teams to launch new products, serve more customers and expand into larger markets.
While concerns over AI-driven job displacement continue, the latest findings suggest businesses making the biggest investments in the technology are also among those increasing hiring rather than reducing it.
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