AI will make the rich unfathomably richer. Is this really what we want?

‘The ludicrous valuations of AI startups are predicated on the idea that this technology has the power to eliminate the very need for human labor.’ Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Recently, Palantir – a tech corporation that boasts no fewer than five billionaire executives – announced its Q2 earnings: over a billion dollars generated in a single quarter. Forty-eight per cent growth in its business compared with the same quarter last year, including 93% growth in its US commercial business. These elephantine numbers are maddening – and, in large part, a result of the company fully embracing artificial intelligence (AI).

The AI revolution is here and as its proponents remind us daily, it will remake our world, making every company and government agency more efficient and less error-prone while helping us unlock hitherto unheard of advances in science and technology. Not only this, but if we play our cards right, big tech’s latest explosion could yield unprecedented economic growth.