MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Sub-Category · 31.07.02
Job Automation Instead of Augmentation
Category: Labor Manipulation, Theft, and Displacement
Description
"There are both positive and negative aspects to the impact of AI on labor. A White House report states that AI “has the potential to increase productivity, create new jobs, and raise living standards,” but it can also disrupt certain industries, causing significant changes, including job loss. Beyond risk of job loss, workers could find that generative AI tools automate parts of their jobs—or find that the requirements of their job have fundamentally changed. The impact of generative AI will depend on whether the technology is intended for automation (where automated systems replace human wor
From Generating Harms - Generative AI's impact and paths forwards (EPIC2023), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).
Classification
- Causal entity
- Human
- Intent
- Intentional
- Timing
- Post-deployment
Subdomain definition: Widespread use of AI increasing social and economic inequalities, such as by automating jobs, reducing the quality of employment, or producing exploitative dependencies between workers and their employers.
Real-world incidents in this subdomain
- Polish Radio Station Replaces Human Hosts with AI-Generated Presenters to Simulate Interviewing Deceased Poet Wisława Szymborska
- Fast Food Chains' AI Chatbots Failed to Assist Job Applicants with Scheduling Interviews
- Kenyan Data Annotators Allegedly Exposed to Graphic Content for OpenAI's AI
- RealPage Algorithm Allegedly Inflates Rents and Reduces Competition in Housing Market
- Amazon Flex Drivers Allegedly Fired via Automated Employee Evaluations
- Kronos Scheduling Algorithm Allegedly Caused Financial Issues for Starbucks Employees