# AI and Labor, Economy, and Inequality

AI reshapes employment, productivity, and the distribution of gains. This sub-article expands [Section 3.1 of Philosophy](../philosophy.md).

## Automation and Employment
- AI affects manufacturing, clerical, creative, and knowledge work.
- Some tasks are automated; others are augmented; new roles emerge (prompt engineering, data annotation, model stewardship).

## Productivity and Inequality
- Gains concentrate in firms and individuals with access to compute and data.
- Skills and capital gaps may widen inequality.
- Policy debates: universal basic income, reskilling, and taxation of automation.

## New Professions
- Data annotation, AI ethics, interpretability, and governance roles grow.
- The labor market shifts from production to oversight and curation.

## Why It Matters
The distribution of AI's benefits is a social choice, not a technical inevitability.

## Sources
- Acemoglu, D. & Restrepo, P. (2020). *Robots and Jobs.*
- Brynjolfsson, E. & McAfee, A. (2014). *The Second Machine Age.*

*Back to [Philosophy](../philosophy.md).*