If AI brings 'universal high income,' why are corporations just laying people off?
skatejraney · reddit · 2026-10-18
A Reddit poster challenges Musk-style promises of AI-driven 'universal basic high income': if AI truly boosts productivity, why aren't companies acting now instead of laying people off — effectively 'universal no income'?
Key points: corporations easily could move incrementally (e.g., Tesla staff on 30-hour weeks at same pay thanks to AI); from personal experience, today's AI often just redoes the same work with different tools, sometimes with more effort — 'ripping out the lawn to restructure a working sprinkler system'; and AI hype may be a last-ditch innovation story for declining companies pitched at shareholders. He concludes corporate America won't distribute AI's benefits broadly, and the transition could be painful, potentially requiring revolutionary change.
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