Prominent figures in the artificial intelligence sector say that a basic income could be necessary to address the massive job losses related to this technology.
Last week, the research arm of the world’s best-known artificial intelligence (AI) company published an extensive study on the universal basic income.
OpenResearch, a division of OpenAI, gave 3,000 random participants in the studio 1,000 dollars (920 euros) or 50 dollars (46.16 euros) per month for three years without asking questions.
According to the investigation, the majority used that money to cover their basic needs, such as rent and food, and spent more time caring for others. They even considered going back to school, finding a more meaningful job, or moving to other parts of the United States.
“Cash is the only tool that provides the flexibility necessary to face various challenges that people face over time,” Karina Dotson, director of research and insights at OpenResearch, told ‘Euronews Next’.
Sam AltmanCEO of OpenAI, is part of the long list of big Silicon Valley tech bosses advocating for a basic income to address massive AI-driven job losses in the coming years. He has called his prediction that “computers will effectively replace the entire manufacturing industry” an “obvious conclusion.”
What is at stake, number of jobs
Estimates of how many jobs AI could eliminate are inconclusive. According to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January, almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI. This figure rises to 60% in “advanced economies”, where some of these jobs could disappear.
According to a recent study by the Swiss staffing company Adecco, 41% of executives in senior positions are thinking about hiring fewer people because of AI.
However, research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) concluded that only 23% of jobs in the United States could be cost-effectively replaced by AI and that some tasks, such as computer vision, would take “decades” to perform the same tasks as humans.
For its part, a scientific report by Seoul AI Summit says any temporary job losses would be ‘short-term’ and would end up being offset by new ones, in line with other waves of automation.
How quickly the labor market adapts will depend on whether workers have the necessary qualifications to change jobs or locations, the report continues.
According to the report, job losses could cause “a difficult transition for some workers unless support is available“.
Feeling safe makes people accept technological change
Guy Standing, founder and co-chair of the Earth Basic Income Network, says “too much attention is being paid” to pessimistic argument that AI will destroy all jobs. And, despite the rise of AI, countries like the United States register the highest number of vacancies in their history.
What society should focus on is How a universal basic income can address the even wider gap between rich and poor in response to the AI revolution, where the majority of the world’s population lives in “chronic insecurity,” Standing said.
Anselm Küsters, head of the new technologies department at the European Policy Center, said that Another side effect of a universal basic income is that it will end any skepticism people may have about the arrival of AI for their sustenance.
That means people will be more willing to “believe in these technologies and apply them in their lives,” he continued. “Feeling safe and supported is what makes people adopt technological change“, afirma Sexton.”It will help them improve their skills and (create) new AI products“. “If people are skeptical, there will be new monopolies and there will be no new innovations.”
ADVERTISINGWould basic income work in the EU?
Both Standing and Küsters say it is difficult to know what amount of money would be appropriate for a basic income, as it would be different depending on the cost of living.
Apply a uniform universal basic income across the EU would be complicatedcontinues Küsters, because the social policy and rules of each Member State, as well as the amount of money that should be guaranteed, would vary greatly.
For Küsters, the debate must begin in international organizations such as the G7 or the G20 to avoid inequalities in basic income systems that could lead companies to move their headquarters to avoid it.
Last December, the G7 adopted the Hiroshima AI process, the first voluntary international framework that “promotes safe and reliable advanced AI systems,” according to its website.
ADVERTISINGLast week, The G20 agreed to work together on a tax for the ultra-rich which could mean rates of up to 2% for fortunes exceeding 1,000 million dollars (920 million euros), according to media reports.
The eventual tax could report some Global revenues up to $250 billion (231,000 million euros) to the 3,000 richest citizens in the world.
These discussions at both tables give Küsters hope that both the G7 and G20 are interested in addressing the issue of basic income. If EU member states want to establish a basic income, Küsters suggests politicians come to agreements with the insurance sector to update their protections in the age of artificial intelligence.
In this way, basic income could reach citizens without affecting the potential of each State to prevent large companies from leaving for more competitive markets.
ADVERTISING
