Global Talk When AI Learns Inequality: Gendered and Intersectional Experiences of Workplace Discrimination

About this event

Sedgewick building (SED) C168. When AI Learns Inequality: Gendered and Intersectional Experiences of Workplace Discrimination With G. Linda Rafnsdóttir, Professor of Sociology. University of Iceland Date: Wednesday October 7, 2026 Location: Sedgewick C168 or Online Time: 2:30-4:00 PM DETAILS: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into hiring and workplace management, concerns are growing that it may reproduce and amplify existing social inequalities, particularly for vulnerable groups. The 2025 Work Trade index shows that 75% of knowledge employees were already using AI at early 2024, with nearly half adopting it in the previous six months. This is not a gradual transition, but a rapid acceleration. Importantly, this shift is not driven solely by curiosity, as it is also propelled by increasing workloads, time pressure, and rising productivity demands. At the same time, the growing use of AI in human resource management risks reinforcing existing societal biases and inequalities in workplace decision-making, particularly for marginalized groups. Recent European legislation classifies certain use of AI in employment, including recruitment, as high-risk, reflecting concerns about discrimination, transparency, and the assumptions embedded in these systems. This raises a critical question on how we can ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI in the future of work. The social sciences have a crucial role to play in addressing this question by examining how AI is developed and impl