Instead of creating jobs, why don't we let AI do all the work and just have a Universal Basic Income (UBI)?

 

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the idea that every citizen would receive a regular government payment, regardless of whether they work, to ensure everyone has enough to live on. While well-intentioned, relying on UBI as a response to artificial intelligence risks replacing the dignity of work with dependency. America’s strength has always come from people at work—building, teaching, caring, and creating. Work is not just a paycheck; it provides dignity, purpose, and a sense of belonging. Letting AI replace most jobs and relying on UBI would hollow out this foundation, concentrating wealth and power in a few hands while leaving most Americans disconnected. As economist Daron Acemoglu warns, “UBI fully buys into the vision that the business and tech elite are the enlightened, talented people who should generously finance the rest.” That vision is incompatible with a democracy built on shared work and contribution.

 

RAISE-UP encourages we redirect AI development to create jobs for everyone who wants one, not eliminate them. AI can be designed to augment human ability—improving education, healthcare, infrastructure, and local services—if we set the right incentives. RAISE-UP promotes public and private commitments, transparency, and policies that reward job-creating innovation, ensure productivity gains lower essential costs, and invest in training so every worker can adapt and thrive.

 

The choice before us is cultural as much as economic. We can become a society that pays people not to work while a few control the means of production, or we can remain a nation of builders, ensuring that AI serves people—not the other way around. Redirecting AI toward shared prosperity honors America’s work ethic, strengthens democracy, and keeps the promise that everyone who wants to contribute has a place in building the future.

​