MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Sub-Category · 11.05.02

Cultural harms

Category: Societal System Harms

Open the MIT Risk Navigator All entries from Shelby2023

Description

Cultural harm has been described as the development or use of algorithmic systems that affects cultural stability and safety, such as “loss of communication means, loss of cultural property, and harm to social values”

From Sociotechnical Harms of Algorithmic Systems: Scoping a Taxonomy for Harm Reduction (Shelby2023), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).

Classification

Domain: 5. Human-Computer Interaction
Subdomain: 5.2 Loss of human agency and autonomy
Causal entity: AI
Intent: Unintentional
Timing: Post-deployment

Subdomain definition: Humans delegating key decisions to AI systems, or AI systems making decisions that diminish human control and autonomy, potentially leading to humans feeling disempowered, losing the ability to shape a fulfilling life trajectory or becoming cognitively enfeebled.

Real-world incidents in this subdomain

Browse all incidents in this subdomain

How other frameworks describe this risk

Autonomy
A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)
Personality rights loss
A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)
Autonomy/agency loss
A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)
Gradual loss of control
Dimensional Characterization and Pathway Modeling for Catastrophic AI Risks (Chin2025)
AI enables automation of military decision-making
A Survey of the Potential Long-term Impacts of AI: How AI Could Lead to Long-term Changes in Science, Cooperation, Power, Epistemics and Values (Clarke2023)
AI-induced strategic instability
A Survey of the Potential Long-term Impacts of AI: How AI Could Lead to Long-term Changes in Science, Cooperation, Power, Epistemics and Values (Clarke2023)
Humans might increasingly hand over control to misaligned AI systems
Capabilities and Risks from Frontier AI (DSIT2023)
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Capabilities and Risks from Frontier AI (DSIT2023)

Other entries from Shelby2023

Representational Harms Risk Category · 1.1
Stereotyping social groups Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Demeaning social groups Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Erasing social groups Risk Sub-Category · 1.3
Alienating social groups Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Denying people the opportunity to self-identify Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Reifying essentialist categories Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Allocative Harms Risk Category · 1.1
Opportunity loss Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Economic loss Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
Quality-of-Service Harms Risk Category · 1.3
Alienation Risk Sub-Category · 1.3