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VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Artificial intelligence as a social institution: Structures, norms and consequences
Authors
Dr. Dheeraj Pratap Mitra
Abstract
This paper conceptualizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an emerging
social institution rather than a neutral technological tool arguing that AI
increasingly performs institutional functions by structuring norms,
decision-making processes and power relations in contemporary societies.
Drawing on sociological theories of institutions and power alongside critical
scholarship on digital capitalism and algorithmic governance, this paper
situates AI within broader social, political and economic structures. It demonstrates
how AI systems have become embedded in state governance, market institutions
and everyday social practices where they regulate access to resources, classify
populations and legitimize particular forms of knowledge and authority. The
paper critically examines how algorithmic norms and values are socially
embedded often reproducing existing inequalities related to class, caste, race,
gender and geography under the appearance of objectivity and efficiency.
Particular attention is given to the role of AI in reshaping labour relations
through automation and algorithmic management intensifying precarity while
concentrating power within corporate and bureaucratic institutions. The
analysis further highlights the contradictory nature of AI as a social institution
showing how it simultaneously deepens social stratification and generates new
forms of resistance, contestation and ethical debate. By foregrounding AI’s
institutional character, this paper contributes to the sociology of
institutions, technology and power emphasizing that the social consequences of
AI depend not on technological design alone but on the regulatory frameworks,
political struggles and collective choices that shape its governance. The study
concludes by calling for sociologically informed policy interventions and
future empirical research that critically interrogate AI’s role in reproducing
or transforming social inequalities in the digital age.
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Pages:95-98
How to cite this article:
Dr. Dheeraj Pratap Mitra "Artificial intelligence as a social institution: Structures, norms and consequences". International Journal of Advanced Education
, Vol 2, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 95-98
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