Algorithmic Determinants of Social Inequality: Problematization of Research in Sociology

Introduction. Algorithmization is rapidly penetrating the economy, management, and everyday life, becoming a source of new social differentiation, inequality, and increased control, while the scale and intensity of its implementation vary sharply between countries and regions. In these circumstances, analyzing the social consequences of AI is becoming one of the key tasks of contemporary sociology.

Methodology and sources. The article uses theoretical-analytical and historical-sociological approaches based on the concepts of digital and algorithmic inequality, critical theory of digitalization, and sociology of technology. The empirical and analytical basis of the study consists of official statistics, sociological research materials, reports from research centers, as well as works by Russian and foreign authors on algorithmization, artificial intelligence, and the transformation of social structures.

Results and discussion. It has been shown that artificial intelligence algorithms act as an independent factor of social differentiation, forming a new level of digital inequality. The scale and directions of algorithm implementation in various countries and regions of Russia are revealed, and the risks of labor market transformation, increased social control, and the reproduction of hidden forms of discrimination in conditions of algorithmic rationality are analyzed.

Conclusion. The algorithmization of social and economic processes requires a rethinking of classical sociological approaches to the analysis of inequality. Algorithmic inequality is viewed as a stable structural characteristic of modern digital reality, which highlights the need for its conceptualization and further empirical research within the framework of sociological science.

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