AI is making ever more jobs obsolete. The solution from Silicon Valley? A universal paycheck, no work required.
Technology titans including Elon Musk and Sam Altman see a future flush with wealth generated by artificial intelligence. Some tech heavyweights have endorsed no-strings cash distributions for a decade, so-called universal basic income, or UBI.
While many think of UBI as a taxpayer-funded system, Silicon Valley’s elite envision AI doing humans’ work, from mundane factory jobs to highly skilled white-collar roles, and funding payouts through cost savings and more revenue. Tech leaders say that revenue can be shared under a massive wealth-redistribution system.
Suddenly, an idea once seen as a socialist policy that would reward idleness is one of the AI boom’s hottest acronyms.
