As artificial intelligence reshapes industries, automates jobs, and redefines productivity, we are faced with a question: What will work look like in the future? With machines taking on more tasks once done by humans, will societies need to provide a Universal Basic Income (UBI) to ensure financial security? Or will new forms of work emerge, making such guarantees unnecessary? Would UBI empower innovation and creativity or discourage ambition?
This salon explored the potential impacts of AI-driven automation on employment, wealth distribution, and human purpose. What do you think about the Future of Work and how it might be affected by AI and potentially UBI? Tell us in the comments below.
Stats and Information
- Tech shifts aren’t new (Stone Age, Iron Age, Industrial Revolution) — but the AI revolution is different:
- From Physical to Cognitive Automation – Industrial machines replaced physical labor; AI automates thinking — decision-making, analysis, even creativity.
- Accelerated Pace of Change – AI is reshaping work faster than any past shift. By 2030 (Sources: McKinsey Global Institute):
- AI can boost productivity, not just eliminate jobs.
- Demand will rise for STEM, creative, and business professionals using AI tools.
- Labor shortages could persist without more participation, immigration, or productivity growth.
- New jobs in the future could include: AI Ethicist, Prompt Engineer, Virtual Therapist, Health Coach, AR/VR Experience Designer
- Evolving roles because of AI could include: Teachers → AI learning facilitators; Doctors → AI-enhanced caregivers; Engineers → Architects of human-tech collaboration
- UBI and the AI Economy
- Andrew Yang championed UBI: $1,000/month for all Americans to offset tech-driven job loss.
- UBI isn’t new — historic supporters include MLK Jr., Thomas Paine, and even Pope Francis.
- Pros: Basic needs covered; more risk-taking for entrepreneurs and artists; People can still work while receiving UBI.
- Cons: Huge funding challenges (sales taxes, taxes on the wealthy unpopular); Risk of weakening existing safety nets (like food stamps, Medicaid); Potential for less work = social isolation, loss of purpose.
Key Discussion Themes
AI Skill Gaps and Computational Savviness – As AI becomes more central to work and life, the divide between those who are computationally skilled and those who aren’t may widen. How can we close this emerging gap?
Can AI Fulfill Empathic Needs? – While AI can mimic empathy, it lacks true emotional regulation and human connection—traits critical for caregiving and therapy, where presence matters more than information.
The Value of Effort and Emotional Journey – Is something more meaningful when it requires time and emotional effort? Waiting in line at Disney World builds anticipation—an experience that instant technologies often miss.
The Implications of Universal Basic Income – We debated whether people can truly stop working—and whether UBI will become more essential for middle-class workers as AI reshapes employment.
Human Nature and Maturity – We explored how to grow human maturity—emotional, moral, and intellectual—in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
Resources
- WSJ: “Will AI Help or Hurt Workers? One 26-Year-Old Found an Unexpected Answer.“
- Jake Chacko: “A Retirement Journal: The Future of Work-Part 2”
- The Oaklandside: What’s next for Oakland’s guaranteed income program?
- Harvard Political Review: One Size Does Not Fit All: A Case Against the UBI in America
- Britannica Money: “Universal basic income: Pros and cons of free money for all”
- The Maastricht Diplomat: “Do Humans Need Work to Have a Purpose?”
- Daily Philosophy: “Hannah Arendt on work and being human”
- Paul Millerd: “The Case Against Work: Ignoring enormous human suffering and potential”
- WSJ: “We Now Know How AI ‘Thinks’—and It’s Barely Thinking at All”