Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
A new study reveals the strengths and limitations


One of Silicon Valley's favorite ideas isn't really tech-driven. The universal basic income — "cash aid from the government, no strings attached" — is the tech industry's solution to the anticipated wave of job losses created by the rise of artificial intelligence, NPR said. That's why OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has spent the last few years funding an experiment in giving people free money. "Do people sit around and play video games," he asked in a blog post, "or do they create new things?" Now we have some answers.
New results from Unconditional Income Study found that giving $1,000 a month to people in Illinois and Texas "improved financial flexibility without disincentivizing workforce participation," Fast Company said. Recipients had a safety net, in other words, but still wanted to work — though they worked a little less. But skepticism still dies hard. "There is this resilient myth that cash no strings attached promotes laziness," said New York University's Juliana Uhuru Bidadanure.
Can the universal basic income change lives?
The Altman-funded experience is a reminder that "money can indeed buy happiness," Brandon Vigliarolo said at The Register, which covers the tech industry. Cash recipients "were more likely to visit the hospital, see a specialist, go to the dentist, and cut down on excess alcohol and drug use." And the participants were also 10% more likely to actively seek a job than people who didn't receive the UBI. That's the good news. The bad news, at least for employers: Cash recipients "were less likely to apply for jobs they didn't want."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Giving Americans $1,000 a month is "better than nothing," Lucas Ropek said at Gizmodo. But the study shows it's not enough to "drastically reshape the economic outlook of that person's life." One finding: The cash had "close to no net impact" on the physical health of cash recipients. The payments did help those people meet their "most basic needs, including affording groceries and paying rent." And that allowed some of the recipients to dream of starting their own businesses, but few actually did so. The takeaway? "Solving poverty isn't a quick and easy process."
Will UBI save us from the problems of AI?
Silicon Valley's support for the UBI is premised on the notion of AI-driven job losses. But "if there's no great wave of AI-driven unemployment, if the AI bubble bursts," then that support might also disappear, Oshan Jarow said at Vox. There are good arguments for a universal basic income that have nothing to do with the tech industry's prognostications. "Unconditional cash can be an effective anti-poverty policy." That's why UBI supporters "might be better off severing ties with speculations about AI altogether."
Some observers are suspicious of the tech industry's motives, said The New York Times. "Is Silicon Valley pushing basic income as a way to make the state smaller? To replace all the other safety nets?" asked Bidadanure, the former director of the Stanford Basic Income Lab. Others believe the industry has a responsibility to do more good with all its wealth. "Silicon Valley is good at building products and building companies and hiring lots of people," said Salesforce's Marc Benioff, "but it has a long way to go on social responsibility."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Supersized: The no-limit AI data center build-out
Feature Tech firms are investing billions to build massive AI data centers across the U.S.
-
Digital addiction: the compulsion to stay online
In depth What it is and how to stop it
-
AI workslop is muddying the American workplace
The explainer Using AI may create more work for others
-
Prayer apps: is AI playing God?
Under The Radar New chatbots are aimed at creating a new generation of believers
-
Is the UK government getting too close to Big Tech?
Today’s Big Question US-UK tech pact, supported by Nvidia and OpenAI, is part of Silicon Valley drive to ‘lock in’ American AI with US allies
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?
Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Albania’s AI government minister: a portent of things to come?
In The Spotlight A bot called Diella has been tasked with tackling the country's notorious corruption problem
-
South Korea's divide over allowing Google Maps
Talking Points The country is one of few modern democracies where the app doesn't work