Elon Musk has warned that artificial intelligence will render traditional employment unnecessary, reigniting debate over universal basic income (UBI) as a potential solution. Speaking at the Bletchley Park summit, Musk stated that he believes 'no job is needed' due to AI development, suggesting work should become a matter of 'personal satisfaction'.
Economist Karl Widerquist of Georgetown University-Qatar offers a more cautious view. He argues that AI will initially push white-collar workers into lower-paid, insecure jobs, driving down wages and increasing inequality. Widerquist sees UBI as a way to address the failure of employers to distribute economic gains fairly.
Scott Santens, editor of Basic Income Today, goes further, framing UBI as a dividend owed to workers whose data trained AI models. 'Why should only one or two companies get rich off the capital, the human work, that we all created?' he asks.
Research from the Netherlands suggests UBI can boost labour market participation. A study led by Loek Groot of Utrecht University found that unemployed individuals receiving basic income were more likely to secure permanent contracts, partly due to the removal of job-seeking conditions. Groot questions the push for full employment: 'Why not give people who have good alternatives the opportunity to reduce work, or not work at all, and cash in the basic income?'
In Kenya, the world's largest UBI scheme provides 5,000 people with daily payments. Tavneet Suri of MIT reports that recipients are leaving low-wage jobs to start businesses, driving up wages for remaining workers. The experiment, run by GiveDirectly, will continue until 2029.
