Experts Warn About AI; How It Could Intensify Income Inequality

Many people worry that AI could increase the gap between rich and poor. They believe big tech companies will make most of the money as many jobs could be replaced by machines and highly skilled workers that may earn even more while others struggle. Brennan Kolar who is the founder of Atlas CPA Index, said that by the end of 2025 the richest 1% of families in the U.S. owned 31.7% of the country’s wealth the highest level ever recorded by the Federal Reserve.

He said that companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Nvidia are getting most of the money invested in AI and their investors are earning most of the profits. He also mentioned a study from February 2026 by the National Bureau of Economic Research which showed that 90% of companies have not yet seen clear improvements in productivity from AI.  He said, "That means the money has already moved to investors through stock prices, but the actual workplace changes haven't caught up."

AI Oligopoly : Manish Jain who is a research director at the Info Tech Research Group, said that "The risk of AI driven wealth concentration among a few player is much like what happened with earlier technologies such as internet".  He said, “History may not always repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” which means companies already have advantages like huge amounts of data and powerful computers which makes it easier for them to stay ahead. He said that companies like Microsoft and Google are in a strong position to lead AI development. He also believes that only a few countries, such as the United States, China, and Taiwan, are likely to gain the biggest benefits from AI because they play an important role in the AI industry.

Mark N. Vena who is the president and principal analyst at Smart Tech Research said that AI will first make a small group of big tech companies very successful. Most of the early profits will likely go to large cloud companies, AI model makers and platform providers. However he does not think the benefits of AI will stay limited to only a few companies forever. He explained that with every major technology change the big companies usually benefit first, but over time the technology becomes cheaper and more widely available, helping many other businesses as well. He also added that  "AI may widen inequality in the near term but over time it is just as likely to become a rising tide that lifts productivity, lowers barriers, and helps far more businesses and workers than today’s headlines suggest.”

Rob Enderle who is a president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, agreed that AI wealth is likely to be controlled by a small number of very large tech companies. He explained that building advanced AI systems needs huge amounts of money powerful GPU hardware, and large datasets. Then only a few big tech companies already have these resources that’s why it is very difficult for smaller companies to compete. According to him, this could create a situation where a few companies end up controlling most of the market and profits.

Debate Over AI Monopoly Risks : Robert D. Atkinson who is a president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, believes it is unlikely that only a few AI companies will control all the profits and power. He said that businesses like car companies, hotels, insurance firms, consulting companies, and many others will still exist and continue to operate. These companies may use AI to improve their work, which they will buy from different companies that compete with each other for their business.

According to him AI companies are mainly creating tools that other businesses will use and not taking over every industry themselves. He also added that "these AI giants will have to complete for customers which means their profits. He also disagreed with the idea that AI will take over most jobs or only help highly paid workers earn more money.

He pointed out that many jobs such as teachers, plumbers, police officers, firefighters, chefs, nurses, dentists, and carpenters still need human skills and cannot easily be replaced by robots or AI. He added  "Whatever Elon Musk may claim they will not be doing these jobs". He also added that while automation may replace some jobs, it can also lower costs and make products and services cheaper. When people save money they spend more in other areas which can create new jobs in different industries.

Overlapping Job Risks : Sarah Fox who is an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interaction Institute said that AI could increase inequality in the short term because it mainly helps workers who already earn high salaries. She said that, “AI tools tend to be designed to complement workers who already have high levels of autonomy, allowing them to scale their output or increase their productivity that could translate into greater market power for those workers".That means this could give these workers even more advantages and influence in the market. At the same time many lower paid workers in service jobs, care-giving, or manual labor may not benefit much from AI. In some situations companies may use AI to monitor these workers more closely or make them work harder instead of actually helping them become more productive.

She acknowledged that AI could “level the playing field” by making advanced capabilities more accessible but access, training, and the ability to effectively integrate AI into one’s work are not evenly distributed. Fox also added that job loss isn’t the only or even the primary mechanism by which AI could increase inequality. “Even without full displacement, AI can weaken workers’ bargaining power in more subtle ways,” she noted. “By automating parts of jobs, standardizing workflows, and enabling more intensive monitoring, firms may seek to make workers more interchangeable and easier to control. That tends to reduce leverage over wages and working conditions.”

Sarah Fox explained that there are two major risks with AI. The first is that some workers could lose their jobs, at least for some time. The second is that even workers who keep their jobs may face worse working conditions, less freedom in their work, slower salary growth, or lower pay. She said these problems can increase inequality, especially because workers may feel less able to speak up when they fear being replaced by AI. She also said that even if AI benefits spread more widely in the future, there is no guarantee that everyone will benefit equally. According to her, under the current economic system, the biggest gains from AI are more likely to go to people and companies that already have money, power, and strong positions in the job market.

Lastly, Fox believes the main issue is not whether the worst possible outcomes will happen, but whether people are paying enough attention to the slower and deeper ways AI could increase inequality over time. She said “right now there are good reason to think they aren't."

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