AI Leaders Revive Universal Income as Automation Threatens Jobs

As artificial intelligence takes on more work, some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent executives are arguing that the wealth it generates should be distributed across society. Their proposals range from recurring cash payments to giving people ownership in AI-generated value, but critics question whether either approach is practical—or sufficient to address job losses.

Universal basic income, or UBI, generally refers to regular payments made to people without conditions such as employment or income requirements. Advocates have promoted it for decades as a way to reduce poverty. The prospect of automation has given the idea renewed attention, though current proposals from technology leaders often go beyond traditional cash transfers.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman funded a three-year experiment beginning in 2016 that provided $1,000 a month to a group of low-income participants. Study director Elizabeth Rhodes said recipients worked slightly less and spent much of the money on basic necessities. The results offer one example of how cash assistance can affect participants, but do not establish how a nationwide program funded by AI would work.

Altman has since suggested a different model: giving everyone an ownership share in what AI creates. On a podcast in July, he described the idea as “universal extreme wealth” and proposed that people could receive tokens to sell or hold as personal wealth. His proposal shifts the question from how to finance a standard income payment to who owns the economic value produced by AI.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has promoted “universal high income,” arguing that AI could automate much of production and allow the public to share in the resulting revenue. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has also backed income support, saying automation could increase inequality and that companies’ lower costs could help fund broader assistance. Benioff has pointed to pandemic stimulus checks as a possible model for distributing money.

These positions are not the same policy. Cash payments, public redistribution of AI-driven profits and direct ownership stakes would require different funding systems and rules for participation. None of the proposals described by the executives amounts to a settled plan for how governments or companies would distribute AI-generated wealth.

Critics also dispute the premise that income transfers are an adequate answer to automation. MIT labor economist David Autor has called a society dependent on wealth from a few sources a “political fantasy land” and warned that people outside the United States could lose work without receiving any comparable support. His concern highlights a central challenge: AI’s economic effects may cross borders, while income programs typically depend on national institutions.

Other technology figures reject UBI for different reasons. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has argued that work provides purpose and that government subsidies could support industries instead of direct payments. David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI czar, has described universal income as a fantasy and said promises of cash can be used to deflect concern about job losses.

For businesses and policymakers, the debate is becoming part of the broader question of who benefits when AI reduces labor needs and operating costs. The next test is whether advocates can specify who pays, who qualifies and how support would reach workers affected by automation—including people beyond the countries where leading AI companies are based.

Cited: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/universal-income-tech-executives-a16eb2d0?st=1grrKM

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