Max LeibmanApr 12

When AI boosters talk about universal basic income to excuse all of the jobs they claim they can eliminate, ask:

“Then why are you working on AI, and not on universal basic income?”

If you are a journalist in this space and you don’t ask this every time UBI comes up, you are not doing your job.

Show threadChristine Lemmer-WebberApr 16
@maxleibman The other key question to ask is "This sounds like social services normally funded through taxes. Where does the money for UBI come from? I presume it comes from taxing generated wealth?"
Show threadChristine Lemmer-WebberApr 16
@maxleibman "Especially generated wealth developed through the productivity gains developed by this technology?"
Show threadChristine Lemmer-WebberApr 16

@maxleibman What has been the case, and continues to be the case for over a decade, is that technocrats use UBI as a promise to distract from the idea that we should be doing exactly that, funding social services through taxation. Instead, the mechanism is left eternally vague.

We know UBI, as in guaranteed income, has lead to enormous improvements in social structure when it has been made available. The money will come from *somewhere*, but where?

(I know you already agree, just expanding)

Show threadMax LeibmanApr 16
@cwebber Exactly right. It’s a handwave.
Show threadChristine Lemmer-WebberApr 16

@maxleibman The fun thing is that Sam Altman got more "specific" recently in the most hilarious way possible. Here's how you make UBI! Give people free tokens to spend on OpenAI! Tokens are the new currency! https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-tokens-ai-ubi-universalbasic-income-2026-3

And, uh, the government should be investing in those companies too and, you know, clear the way through "Accelerating Grid Expansion" https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/561e7512-253e-424b-9734-ef4098440601/Industrial%20Policy%20for%20the%20Intelligence%20Age.pdf

Not rich as Croesus *enough*? Why not become Croesus! Now you're thinking!

Jensen Huang floated AI tokens as part of engineers' compensation. Sam Altman says they could one day be a form of universal basic income.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed the title of "Token King. In the future, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sees these building blocks of AI as a major resource.

Business Insider
Show threadcraignicol
@cwebber @maxleibman I'm sure all those landlords and grocery stores that accept bitcoin will take payment in chat-tokens real soon now
Apr 16 at 9:35pmWeb
Show threadVincent SparksApr 16
@craignicol @cwebber @maxleibman but a bitcoin doesn't have an intrinsic value! a token does! it'll be just like moving back to the gold standard, just so long as all of these AI companies stay in business and we as a society are okay with effectively treating them like banks.