Financial feasibility and high investment costs for AI technology to remain competitive

Classification

Domain

6. Socioeconomic & Environmental

Subdomain

6.1 Power centralization and unfair distribution of benefits

Causal entity

Human

Intent

Other

Timing

Post-deployment

Subdomain definition: AI-driven concentration of power and resources within certain entities or groups, especially those with access to or ownership of powerful AI systems, leading to inequitable distribution of benefits and increased societal inequality.

Real-world incidents in this subdomain

• 17 Mar 2025LLM Scrapers Allegedly Target Multiple Open Source Projects Disrupting the FOSS Ecosystem
• 4 Jul 2021Coupang Allegedly Tweaked Search Algorithms to Boost Own Products
• 1 Aug 2018Amazon Allegedly Tweaked Search Algorithm to Boost Its Own Products
• 15 Jan 2018Gmail’s Inbox Sorting System Reportedly Reduced Visibility of Political Emails and Campaign Calls-to-Action
• 27 Sep 2017Google Fined for Changing Shopping Algorithms in EU to Favor Own Service
• 31 Dec 2016Amazon India Allegedly Rigged Search Results to Promote Own Products

How other frameworks describe this risk

• Power concentration

  A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

• Monopolisation

  A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024)

• Potential exploitation by totalitarian regimes

  The Rise of Artificial Intelligence - Future Outlooks and Emerging Risks (Allianz2018)

• Corporate power may impeded effective governance

  Foundational Challenges in Assuring Alignment and Safety of Large Language Models (Anwar2024)

• Market concentration risks and single points of failure

  International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI (Bengio2024)

• Global AI Divide

  International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced AI (Bengio2024)

• Market concentration and single points of failure

  International AI Safety Report 2025 (Bengio2025)

• Global AI R&D divide

  International AI Safety Report 2025 (Bengio2025)

Other entries from Wirtz2022

• Technological, Data and Analytical AI Risks Risk Category
• Loss of control of autonomous systems and unforeseen behaviour due to lack of transparency and self-programming/ reprogramming Risk Sub-Category · 7.1
• Programming error Risk Sub-Category · 7.0
• Lack of data, poor data quality, and biases in training data Risk Sub-Category · 1.1
• Vulnerability of AI systems to attacks and misuse Risk Sub-Category · 2.2
• Lack of AI experts with comprehensive AI knowledge Risk Sub-Category · 6.5
• Immaturity of AI technology can cause incorrect decisions Risk Sub-Category · 7.3
• High investment costs of AI hinder integration Risk Sub-Category · 6.1
• Informational and Communicational AI Risks Risk Category · 4.1
• Manipulation and control of information provision (e.g., personalised adds, filtered news) Risk Sub-Category · 4.1
• Disinformation and computational propaganda Risk Sub-Category · 4.1
• Censorship of opinions expressed in the Internet restricts freedom of expression Risk Sub-Category · 5.2