Social Cohesion and Equity Disruption:

Classification

Domain

6. Socioeconomic & Environmental

Subdomain

6.2 Increased inequality and decline in employment quality

Causal entity

Human

Intent

Unintentional

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

• 21 Oct 2024Polish Radio Station Replaces Human Hosts with AI-Generated Presenters to Simulate Interviewing Deceased Poet Wisława Szymborska
• 5 Jan 2023Fast Food Chains' AI Chatbots Failed to Assist Job Applicants with Scheduling Interviews
• 1 Nov 2021Kenyan Data Annotators Allegedly Exposed to Graphic Content for OpenAI's AI
• 1 Sep 2016RealPage Algorithm Allegedly Inflates Rents and Reduces Competition in Housing Market
• 25 Sep 2015Amazon Flex Drivers Allegedly Fired via Automated Employee Evaluations
• 14 Aug 2014Kronos Scheduling Algorithm Allegedly Caused Financial Issues for Starbucks Employees

How other frameworks describe this risk

• Job loss/losses

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

• Societal destabilisation

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

• Societal inequality

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

• Labour exploitation

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

• Political instability

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

• Increased income disparity

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

• Economic

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

• Effects on the Workforce

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

Other entries from Tse2025

• Misuse Risks Risk Category · 4.0
• Misuse Risks Additional evidence
• Cyber Offense Risks Risk Sub-Category · 4.2
• Biological and Chemical Risks Risk Sub-Category · 4.2
• Biological and Chemical Risks Additional evidence
• Physical Harm and Injury Risks Risk Sub-Category · 4.2
• Physical Harm and Injury Risks Additional evidence
• Large-Scale Persuasion and Harmful Manipulation Risks Risk Sub-Category · 4.1
• Large-Scale Persuasion and Harmful Manipulation Risks Additional evidence
• Loss of Control Risks Risk Category · 5.2
• Loss of Control Risks Additional evidence
• Passive loss of control Risk Sub-Category · 5.2