Socioeconomic Inequality

Embodied AI: Emerging Risks and Opportunities for Policy Action

Perlo et al. (2025)

Source DOI

Sub-category

Risk Domain

6Socioeconomic & Environmental

6.2Increased inequality and decline in employment quality

Social and economic inequalities caused by widespread use of AI, such as by automating jobs, reducing the quality of employment, or producing exploitative dependencies between workers and their employers.

"Along with displacing labor, EAI could significantly exacerbate wealth inequalities. Those who have access to or own EAI systems will be able to automate labor and perform many tasks significantly better or faster than those without access. These significant productivity advantages will potentially concentrate wealth and exacerbate domestic and international inequality [98, 99]."(p. 6)

Entity— Who or what caused the harm

Human

Due to a decision or action made by humans

AI system

Due to a decision or action made by an AI system

Other

Due to some other reason or is ambiguous

Intent— Whether the harm was intentional or accidental

Intentional

Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal

Unintentional

Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal

Other

Without clearly specifying the intentionality

Timing— Whether the risk is pre- or post-deployment

Pre-deployment

Occurring before the AI is deployed

Post-deployment

Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed

Other

Without a clearly specified time of occurrence

Supporting Evidence (1)

"For example, while a wealthy businesswoman could invest in a fleet of the latest humanoid robots, individuals lacking adequate capital might be forced to rent their EAI systems. This division could create stark and entrenched socioeconomic divides as the importance of outsourcing labor to ever-more-capable EAI increases [100]. Virtual AI applications may cause similar socioeconomic inequality, but the ability to use and control access to EAI systems may confer significant and unique returns on investment, given that many tasks in the physical world necessary for human survival (e.g. growing food, building shelter) are constrained by human strength and energy."(p. 6)