A hypothesized social class emerging in late-stage technological or post-singularity economies, consisting of individuals who are structurally excluded from meaningful participation in production, ownership, or decision-making due to widespread automation, artificial intelligence, and capital concentration. Unlike traditional poverty, this condition is not temporary or cyclical but systemic and persistent, as human labor is rendered economically unnecessary and opportunities for mobility diminish.
In discussions of the technological singularity, a population whose skills, bargaining power, and access to technological augmentation lag behind accelerating machine intelligence, resulting in long-term dependence on state or corporate provisioning (e.g., stipends, basic income, or platform access), with limited agency or influence over the systems that govern their lives. Often contrasted with a technologically empowered elite or “augmented class,” and cited as a potential dystopian outcome of unequal automation and ownership structures.