A 160-year-old paradox explains why AI will create more lawyers and accountants—not fewer, top economist says
The Jevons paradox, originally describing how increased efficiency leads to higher consumption rather than lower, is being applied by economist Torsten Slok to the AI era, suggesting AI will increase demand for professional services rather than reduce employment. As AI lowers the cost of tasks in law, accounting, and consulting, new demand may emerge, expanding the overall market for these services. While some data shows job growth in AI-exposed occupations, the long-term impact on individual workers and entry-level roles remains uncertain.
- ▪The Jevons paradox describes how greater efficiency in using a resource leads to increased, not decreased, consumption of that resource.
- ▪Economist Torsten Slok argues that AI will expand demand for legal, accounting, and consulting services by making them cheaper and more accessible.
- ▪Youth unemployment has declined and new business formation has reached record highs, though much of this growth is driven by entrepreneurship rather than traditional professional hiring.
- ▪A 2025 Vanguard report found that occupations most exposed to AI automation experienced stronger job growth, suggesting AI is boosting productivity rather than replacing workers.
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In 1865, English economist William Stanley Jevons observed that the invention of the Watt steam engine — which improved the efficiency of the coal-fired steam engine — made coal a more effective energy source. Jevons called it “a confusion of ideas” to assume the efficiency born from this invention would reduce coal consumption. That efficiency actually dramatically increased consumption even as the total amount of coal required for a particular task fell. There’s now a term for this seemingly contradictory idea: the Jevons paradox.Recommended Video In a note on Tuesday, Apollo Global Management’s influential chief economist Torsten Slok applied the Jevons paradox to the AI age.
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