Elon Musk Proposes ‘Universal High Income’ To Combat AI-Driven Job Losses

Elon Musk is once again sounding the alarm on the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, but this time, he is offering a bold solution that is already sparking intense debate.In a social media post on X, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO argued that governments must prepare for a future where AI replaces jobs at an unprecedented scale. The solution, he says, is a system he describes as “universal high income.”“Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the federal government is the best way to deal with unemployment caused by AI,” Mr. Musk wrote.Unlike Universal Basic Income, a proposal that typically provides a survival-level cash payment to all individuals, Universal High Income would theoretically provide people with enough money to afford affluent lifestyles. The assumption is clear: in an AI-driven world, work may no longer be the foundation of income.While critics often point out that injecting massive amounts of money into the economy leads to inflation, Mr. Musk firmly rejects this concern. He argues that the sheer productivity of AI and robotics will flood the market with cheap goods and services.“AI/robotics will produce goods & services far in excess of the increase in the money supply, so there will not be inflation,” he wrote. Furthermore, he noted, “If the rate of growth of goods and services exceeds the rate of growth of the money supply, then you will have deflation.”The potential for AI to disrupt the labor market is significant. A Boston Consulting Group report earlier this month predicted that 10 percent to 15 percent of American jobs could be eliminated in the next five years, affecting roughly 17 million to 25 million people. Peter Diamandis, a leading expert on the topic, aligns with Mr. Musk’s vision, noting that UHI will become possible by drastically reducing the cost of living rather than simply handing out larger sums of money.“When AI and robotics collapse the cost of living’s five major categories by more than half, a $3,000/month check that barely covers basics today becomes a genuinely prosperous life,” Mr. Diamandis wrote in a March post on Substack. “The check doesn’t get bigger. The world gets cheaper. That is when UBI becomes UHI.”Not all experts agree with Musk’s focus. Karl Widerquist, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University-Qatar, told Business Insider that “Musk is right” that UBI could cover more than the basics, but argued he is “wrong” to focus on unemployment when “low wages and stagnating salaries” are currently bigger problems.“About inflation, Musk’s prediction could happen, but we shouldn’t count on it,” Mr. Widerquist said, noting that recent economic growth has primarily benefited the wealthiest individuals.Mr. Musk has been warning about AI for years. At the 2017 World Government Summit, he said, “What to do about mass unemployment? This is going to be a massive social challenge. I think, ultimately, we will have to have some kind of universal basic income. I don’t think we’re going to have a choice. I think it’s going to be necessary. There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better.”“These are not things that I wish would happen; these are things that I think will probably happen,” Mr. Musk added.Despite the promise of abundance — which led Mr. Musk to say recently, “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter,” and “If any of the things that we’ve said are true, saving for retirement will be irrelevant” — the human element remains his greatest concern.“The hardest challenge, much harder challenge, is, ‘How do people then have meaning?’ A lot of people derive their meaning from employment,” Mr. Musk said. “If you’re not needed, if there’s not a need for your labor, how do you — what’s the meaning? That’s a much harder problem to deal with.”

Elon Musk Proposes ‘Universal High Income’ To Combat AI-Driven Job Losses

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