Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Gen AI and the racial wealth gap
Artificial Intelligence | Diversity & Inclusion | North America
February 5, 2024 – Generative AI (gen AI) has the potential to create value for companies and generate wealth for workers. The technology could also widen racial economic gaps, according to senior partner Mark McMillan and colleagues. For example, by 2045, gen AI could boost household wealth in the United States by nearly $500 billion. But, because Black Americans capture only about 38 cents of every dollar of new household wealth, there’s a scenario where gen AI could increase the wealth gap between Black and White households by $43 billion annually.
To read the article, see “The impact of generative AI on Black communities,” December 19, 2023.
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Visual form
Proportional box comparison chart.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a single row of four box-based comparisons, read left to right from the total wealth created to the potential racial wealth gap.
What is being compared
It compares total annual wealth created by gen AI in the United States by 2045, the amount Black households would receive at the average household gain rate, the amount implied by Black households’ current share of wealth, and the resulting gap.
Measurement system
All four values are measured in billions of dollars, and the size of each box is used to reinforce the magnitude difference between the scenarios.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The first panel is the full $500 billion frame, the next two use smaller nested boxes to show alternative Black-household outcomes, and the last panel isolates the gap as its own highlighted box.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows that even a large wealth-creation event can widen inequality if Black households capture a smaller share of the upside than their population share would suggest.
Key standout values or extremes
The chart shows 500 billion in total gen AI-created wealth, 70 billion if Black households gain at the same rate as the average US household, 27 billion if gains are proportional to the current Black share of household wealth, and a 43 billion annual gap.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.