ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND GLOBAL INEQUALITY: NEW CHALLENGES FOR DISTRIBUTION RELATIONS
Abstract
The article aims to investigate the influence of artificial intelligence on global inequality and distributive relationships within the shifting technological paradigm of the modern economy. The topic gains pressing relevance as automation, driven by intelligent systems, transforms labor markets and income structures, amplifying productivity while posing risks to social stability through widening economic disparities. This dual nature of technological progress necessitates a deeper understanding of its implications for equitable growth. The study employs a conceptual methodology, analyzing the relationships between technological innovation, labor dynamics, human capabilities, and consumption trends to assess the broader economic shifts induced by intelligent automation. The findings demonstrate that artificial intelligence enhances efficiency and opens new economic prospects, yet it simultaneously exacerbates inequality by limiting resource access for less adaptable population segments, thus creating pronounced gaps in income and consumption. A key insight is the pivotal role of skill transformation, as individuals must adapt their competencies to thrive in a technology-centric economy. Notably, the analysis emphasizes the potential of basic income as a mechanism to address these disparities, suggesting that its current manifestations—such as subsidies or minimum income guarantees—represent transitional forms that partially fulfill its purpose of securing basic living conditions, though they fall short of its full conceptual essence. The study advocates for an integrated approach that merges economic efficiency with social equity, proposing that reimagining distributive systems through educational investments and evolving forms of basic income can mitigate the challenges posed by automation. The practical value of this work lies in providing a theoretical groundwork for crafting economic policies that leverage basic income in its emerging forms to reduce inequality and promote a sustainable socio-economic balance amid rapid technological change.
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