  Those best-positioned to profit from the proliferation of artificial
intelligence (AI) systems are those with the most economic power. Extant global
inequality has motivated Western institutions to involve more diverse groups in
the development and application of AI systems, including hiring foreign labour
and establishing extra-national data centers and laboratories. However, given
both the propensity of wealth to abet its own accumulation and the lack of
contextual knowledge in top-down AI solutions, we argue that more focus should
be placed on the redistribution of power, rather than just on including
underrepresented groups. Unless more is done to ensure that opportunities to
lead AI development are distributed justly, the future may hold only AI systems
which are unsuited to their conditions of application, and exacerbate
inequality.
