Abstract: Based on panel data from 30 provinces(autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) in China from 2017 to 2023, this paper empirically examines the impact of the development of the artificial intelligence(AI) industry on the income gap. The results show that, over the study period, the development of the AI industry has generally widened the income gap, and this conclusion remains robust after a variety of robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of AI industry development on the income gap is most significant in the central region and in areas designated as AI pilot zones. The threshold regression results indicate that the impact of AI industry development on the income gap exhibits stage-specific characteristics: at lower levels of AI industry development, it widens the income gap, but after crossing a certain threshold, it can mitigate the income gap.