English News AI is powering an economy in which many Americans are falling behind PART2

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‘An economy of winners and losers’

The diverging fortunes of the poorest and wealthiest Americans has emerged as a key theme in the US economy, and experts say AI is playing a significant role.

The billions poured into the AI industry have minted a cadre of handsomely paid workers in tech hubs across the country, including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose and Washington, DC, according to a report by Oxford Economics. Those workers are part of the wealthiest 10% of Americans who are increasingly powering US economic growth with their spending, or as much as 62% of growth, according to Moody’s.

“You’re seeing incredible concentrations of wealth as a result of AI for these new companies, their founders and their first employees,” said Manuel Pastor, director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California. “It’s exacerbating an economy of winners and losers.”

The winners in today’s economy are clearly involved in the development and funding of AI, including early investors, experts told CNN.

SpaceX debuted on Wall Street last month as the largest initial public offering on record. The AI and space exploration company is now worth more than $2.1 trillion, and investors widely expect it to be a windfall for Americans’ retirement accounts. AI stalwarts OpenAI and Anthropic, both headquartered in San Francisco, are also gearing up for their own IPOs, which would add trillions in new market value. And San Francisco companies comprise nearly two-thirds of worldwide AI funding, according to data firm Crunchbase.

• PART1
• PART3

VOCABULARY & PHRASES

• diverging: 分歧的
  The diverging fortunes of the poorest and wealthiest
  最窮與最富的財富分岐
• emerge as: 出現為；浮現為
  Economic inequality has emerged as a political issue.
• pour into: 傾瀉；灌入
  Heavy rain poured into the room through the broken window last night.
• mint: 鑄造；創造
• a cadre of: 一群骨幹（有「任務導向」與「專業精銳」的色彩）
  The manager assembled a cadre of experienced engineers to tackle the system migration.
• handsomely: 慷慨地
  Handsomely paid workers
  薪資優渥的工作者
• tech hubs: 科技聚落
• concentrations: 集中
  incredible concentrations of wealth
  財富的極度集中
• exacerbate [ɪgˈzæsəbeɪt]: 使...加劇；使...惡化
  The lack of clear documentation exacerbated the communication issues between the teams.
  Stress can often exacerbate underlying health issues.
  壓力經常會使潛在的健康問題加重。
• debut [ˈdeɪbjuː]: 首次亮相
• initial public offering: IPO，首度公開發行
• windfall: 意外之財
• stalwart [ˈstɔːlwət]: 堅定分子；中流砥柱
• gear up: 做準備；籌備
  The team is gearing up for the next sprint.
  She is gearing up for the marathon.
  The company is gearing up for the next generation product
• comprise: 組成；包含
  The house comprises ten rooms, including a large basement.
  The entire system comprises three main modules.
  整個系統包含三個主要模組。