Who pays the rent when AI takes all the jobs? Reddit demands the utopians' steelman
artfellig · reddit · 2026-10-04
A Reddit poster challenges AI optimists to make their strongest case: when AI and humanoid robots obsolete most jobs, how do the unemployed pay rent, groceries, tuition, and healthcare? The post cites Nick Bostrom's NYT podcast vision of a 'leisure society' where humans no longer need paychecks, and Elon Musk's claim that money will eventually stop being relevant — neither of which explains the actual mechanism. The author asks who buys and maintains household robots, and invites the best steelman arguments (UBI, universal basic services, etc.) for a post-work economy.
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