[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Is the rise of AI the best argument for universal basic income?

[Ted Kochanski]

All,

The impact of AI on society is still to be determined
When previous breakthrough tech has hit and become fully adopted the
societal impact has been complex

For example -- textile industry in US [from time of the US Constitution to
the beginning of the 21st C] chronicling the industrialization, change in
energy sources and materials and impact of automation

circa 1800 -- still based on work at home from raw materials to primary
industrial feedstock to finished goods

distributed up and down east coast

growing vegetable and animal fiber predominantly on small farms -- wool,
flax

producing thread and weaving fabric -- spinning wheels and home looms

sewing clothing at home by hand

circa  1850

large scale industrial production of industrial feedstocks in New England
powered by water power and beginning of introduction of steam power
Cotton becomes dominant as raw material produced on industrial scale in
south

beginning of industrial production of finished goods [Civil War uniforms]

circa 1900

large scale industrial production of industrial feedstocks in New England
powered by steam power and beginning of introduction of electricity for
lighting
widespread industrial production of finished goods and beginning of mass
marketed clothing produced predominantly in the North East and North
Central area
return to some home production of clothing made from commercial fabrics
with the aid of the sewing machine

circa 1950

New materials [synthertics]
complete electrification of textile industry
Raw fabric part of Textile industry moves to the South
Industrial production of finished goods spatially diversifying

circa 2000

Textile industry moves outside US except for industrial feedstocks for
synthetic materials and some high-end finished goods
Automation begins to have impact on some finished goods


Ted

On Wed, Sep 18, 2024 at 9:44 PM Robert Primak via LCTG <lctg at lists.toku.us>
wrote:

> Fascinating interview.
>
> AI will do to workers what:
>
> Direct dialing did to telephone operators.
> Word processors and desktop PCs and Macs did to secretaries and later,
> administrative assistants.
> Digital sampling did to session artists (musicians).
> Digital video creation programs did to professional animators.
> Computers did to the women who originally calculated gunnery tables by
> hand.
>
> And so on.
>
> Nobody got compensation, no one got universal income, not everyone went on
> Welfare, and people were not dying in the streets.
> Workers upgraded their skill sets, the same way construction workers
> learned to work with power tools, and the same way farmers learned to use
> personal and business computers, complete with ag-centric  weather
> forecasting models.
> The smart workers quickly adapted, and even the least intelligent or least
> talented found something useful and pay-worthy to do for a living.
> (Crypto-mining and Social Media influencing don't count.)
> Similarly, older drivers are learning how to drive cars with today's auto
> tech innovations and distractions. (Though the newer, brighter LED
> headlights are placing a real strain on some of us.)
>
> Universal income serves to make sure no one needs to be homeless even when
> they are working full-time. It serves to provide health care and food
> security to everyone, regardless or status in (or out of) the workforce.
> Universal income is not a substitute for upgrading workers' skill sets so
> as to keep these skill sets relevant to the way work is done today, and
> tomorrow and tomorrow.
>
> Now let's discuss universal access to free post-secondary education and
> skills training, aka free community college for all. We aren't farmers in
> the 1800's anymore, with a need for only an eighth-grade education.
>
> -- Bob Primak
>
>
> On Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 04:40:29 PM EDT, Peter Albin via LCTG <
> lctg at lists.toku.us> wrote:
>
>
> This interview is from September 12, 2023 but is still relevant.
>
>
> https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/09/12/is-the-rise-of-ai-the-best-argument-for-universal-basic-income
>
> Peter
>
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