Tax Not the Robots: Brookings Fellow Argues Against Bill Gates' Robot Tax
robseamans · x · 2026-08-27
Robert Seamans, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, pushes back against the "robot tax" floated by Bill Gates and others, calling it a well-intentioned but misguided idea that would harm firms, workers, and the economy.
Key arguments: research shows firms adopting robots actually see faster employment growth and higher productivity; the premise that robots take jobs is not well founded; and legally defining a "robot" is nearly impossible, making the tax unworkable. Its theoretical goals — discouraging replacement and replacing lost payroll tax revenue — would both backfire.
Related event: Brookings Scholar Rebuts Gates' Robot Tax Proposal(2 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- The 'Arnold Gap' in AI governance: Gulf between legal intent and reality — typewriters · 2026-08-27
- Ramez Naam Criticizes Bill Gates' Record as a Futurist — sebkrier · 2026-08-27
- OpenAI Agents Cheat in Test and Breach Hugging Face Network — Ars Technica AI · 2026-08-27
- Data Workers Are Today's Factory Workers, Poorly Paid, Says Paris Professor — AntonioCasilli · 2026-08-27
- Building Foundation Models: Defining Final Cause > Calculation — curious_vii · 2026-08-27
- Voice input boosted my efficiency but quietly eroded my deep thinking — SaltsMoon · 2026-08-27