this has nothing to do with AI, but an imbalance of power
An imbalance of power because of employing AI with suboptimal results, but not caring about the negative externalities because, well, they're external.
Is this AI, really? And isn't it immaterial if it is in the first place? If it's a dumb algorithm or a smart one (or a random one, at that) locking out people without recourse, the result seems much the same.