Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared

[2608.14565] Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence arXiv:2608.14565 (cs) [Submitted on 28 May 2026] Title: Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared Authors: Jaeho Kim , Seokhyun Lee , Jieun Lee , Changhee Lee View a PDF of the paper titled Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared, by Jaeho Kim and 3 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: AI safety research has mainly focused on two areas: technical alignment (ensuring AI systems produce human-aligned outputs) and the regulation of generative AI's societal impacts (including unemployment risk and labor market disruption). However, an equally important dimension remains underexplored: the risk inherent in dependence on AI systems themselves. In this position paper, we argue that AI safety research should address AI Lock-In, the phenomenon whereby excessive reliance on AI systems leads to human deskilling, diminishes human capacity for independent functioning, and creates systemic vulnerabilities when AI systems become unavailable or compromised. We highlight that AI Lock-In is a systemic threat that is already emerging at individual, societal, and national levels, one that could be dramatically amplified by AI service disruptions or geopolitical conflicts. Drawing on detailed scenarios, we investigate how AI Lock-In emerges and escalates across multiple levels, ranging from individual skill atrophy to national-scale infrastructure failures. To address this, we provide guidance on how such risks can be mitigated and prepared for at each level. We contend that proactively addressing AI Lock-In before such dependencies become entrenched, or even irreversible, is essential for preserving individual autonomy and national security. Comments: ICML 2026 Position Track Spotlight Subjects: Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI) Cite as: arXiv:2608.14565 [cs.AI] (or arXiv:2608.14565v1 [cs.AI] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.14565 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Jaeho Kim [ view email ] [v1] Thu, 28 May 2026 05:03:40 UTC (152 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared, by Jaeho Kim and 3 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: cs.AI < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-08 Change to browse by: cs References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs . Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax ( What is MathJax? ) We gratefully acknowledge support from our major funders , member institutions , , and all contributors. About · Help · Contact · Subscribe · Copyright · Privacy · Accessibility · Operational Status (opens in new tab) Major funding support from

Related documents

• Position: AI Lock-In Is in Progress, and We Must Be Prepared#610068
• Rethinking AI’s “Liberation” fantasy: free us? Or chain us further?#90336
• 200 - AI Philosophy's Foundations#692812
• The 2026 AI Inflection Series, Chapter 17: The Next AI Breach Will Start in Memory#990461
• Basic issues in AI policy#99657