Elon Musk wants to give everyone “universal high income.”
The new spin on universal basic income is the least he can do, considering how much money AI will make him when his Optimus robots start replacing all human jobs.
The concept: Robots and AI will mean a massive increase in the amount of goods that can be produced, which essentially brings costs down enough so that everyone can afford to live the good life … in a penthouse, of course. Universal basic income proposals would guarantee a paycheck to Americans, issued by the federal government, and would, in Musk’s words, be a solution to “the unemployment caused by AI.”
Universal basic income is not a new idea in the AI world — Sam Altman also recently voiced support for it, or even a “Universal Basic Compute” plan to give Americans a share of AI productivity.
But these kinds of proposals are rooted in a lack of imagination and a misunderstanding of human nature. Humans never take new tools and technology and use them to maintain the status quo. If we did, we would still be hunter-gatherers — the original universal basic income system.
There’s a very good chance AI means quality of life increases for everyone on the planet, but don’t underestimate humanity’s ability to find something to do, and to invent new things to value. Remember the NFT?
