MIT AI Risk Repository · Risk Sub-Category · 58.05.06
Monopolisation
Category: Financial and business
Description
"Monopolisation - Abuse of market power through the control of prices, thereby limiting competition and creating unfair barriers to entry."
From A Collaborative, Human-Centred Taxonomy of AI, Algorithmic, and Automation Harms (Abercrombie2024), as extracted by the MIT AI Risk Repository (CC BY 4.0).
Classification
- Causal entity
- Human
- Intent
- Intentional
- Timing
- Other
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
- LLM Scrapers Allegedly Target Multiple Open Source Projects Disrupting the FOSS Ecosystem
- Coupang Allegedly Tweaked Search Algorithms to Boost Own Products
- Amazon Allegedly Tweaked Search Algorithm to Boost Its Own Products
- Gmail’s Inbox Sorting System Reportedly Reduced Visibility of Political Emails and Campaign Calls-to-Action
- Google Fined for Changing Shopping Algorithms in EU to Favor Own Service
- Amazon India Allegedly Rigged Search Results to Promote Own Products
How other frameworks describe this risk
- Potential exploitation by totalitarian regimes
- Corporate power may impeded effective governance
- Global AI Divide
- Market concentration risks and single points of failure
- Global AI R&D divide
- Market concentration and single points of failure
- Unequal distribution of harms and benefits
- Increased power concentration and inequality
Other entries from Abercrombie2024
- Autonomy
- Autonomy/agency loss
- Impersonation/identity theft
- IP/copyright loss
- Personality rights loss
- Physical
- Bodily Injury
- Loss of Life
- Personal Health Deterioration
- Property Damage
- "Psychological - Direct or indirect impairment of the emotional and psychological mental health of an individual, organisation, or society."
- Addiction