The recent development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a surge in the adoption of AI across a wide range of industries, from healthcare to marketing.
But with it, there is ample evidence of discriminatory harm that AI tools can cause to already marginalised groups through unconscious biases in algorithms and lack of representation in data sets.
AI also has varied potential impacts on jobs and labour, with marginalised groups being more susceptible to job loss or displacement due to automation. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023 indicates that 44 per cent of workers' core skills are expected to change in the next five years alongside increased tasks completed by machines.
With generative AI, recent research done by OpenAI concluded that 80 per cent of the US workforce would have some share of work affected by GPTs (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and about 19 per cent of workers will have a significant share of their work affected.
Research also indicates that the impact of AI on jobs and labour is more likely to have negative consequences for women, racialised, indigenous, and low-income groups.
Eric Brynjolfsson, director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, noted that while automation by AI can increase productivity and wealth, the benefits disproportionately go to those with resources that are not easily replaced with technology such as unique assets, talents or skills.
A spiral of growing marginalisation can occur in the already disadvantaged communities due to their low literacy on AI.
With the rapidly growing number of tasks being automated and augmented by AI, employment and business opportunities inevitably evolve and make the ability to use AI technologies a vital qualification.
However, the current education and training system is inadequate to prepare everyone for this transformational journey.
Groups with fewer resources are likely to be directly or indirectly excluded and marginalised. For example, children in marginalised communities have lower access to advanced technologies and AI education opportunities and exposure to the latest technologies and curricula.
"The ethical use of AI not only includes understanding the social implications of AI and harnessing the fair use of data, but also entails education and training opportunities that are accessible, fair, and diverse," it noted.
