This essay was written in December 2025, in collaboration with Louie Pfeiffer and another peer who wished to stay anonymous.
The First Industrial Revolution (ca. 1760-1840) brought along unseen economic growth, laying a part of the foundation for the modern capitalist economic system (Madsen & Strulik, 2024). The Second Industrial Revolution (late 19th to early 20th century) further developed mass-production and electrification, and in the late 20th century society experienced the digital revolution. Manual labour was further automated and mechanised, computers became more accessible and the internet made information more accessible (Sinclair, 2021), making the world more connected and causing widespread economic growth (Appiah-Otoo & Song, 2021).
All of these ‘revolutions’ brought forth wealth, innovation and growth, but the positive effect of these ‘revolutions’, not only the massive monetary benefits, but also increases in power and political influence, were often extremely consolidated and unequally distributed (Appiah-Otoo & Song, 2021). The immediate effects of these ‘revolutions’ were definitely not solely positive, but over time and through policies and regulations, they generally increased the quality of life across the world, laying the foundation for a society that is generally better off than it previously was (Madsen & Strulik, 2020).
More recently, a new technology emerged. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is widely considered as one of the most powerful technologies; likely to change our world forever as the root of another technological revolution. If the aforementioned pattern is considered, we ask how AI will impact our societies: this essay argues that AI will increase economic inequality if it is freely implemented.
AI promises to boost productivity, while it also threatens to replace humans in some jobs and complement them in others. So does Cazzaniga et al. (2024) note that in advanced economies, about 60 percent of jobs are exposed to AI, due to the prevalence of cognitive-task-oriented jobs.
