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If most of the jobs get replaced by AI, how people will have income to spend on products which will likely be produced by AI itself? (lemmy.today)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by JohnDarlen@lemmy.today to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Imagine this scenario:

All companies start producing mostly using only AI and firing people, because people have no use anymore
Joe spend most of his income on digital video games products
Joe get fired because he got replaced by AI now, since AIs are taking over most jobs
Joe has no income anymore
Joe doesn't have any more money to spend on video games
Companies have no more profit, because people don't have income, so people can't spend on their AI produced products

In this scenario both lose, the company adopting AI and the worker. Am I missing something? Is there any possibility besides Universal Basic Income to keep the system running and not collapsing?

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[–] wraekscadu@vargar.org 2 points 1 day ago

No, you aren't missing anything. You're right that some sort of basic income is inevitable (universal or not). Even if you are a raging capitalist, you still need the plebs to have SOME income to be able to purchase goods and services.

However, for this to happen, it must be demonstrable that AI is actually causing high unemployment. Right now, while economic productivity is kinda increasing due to AI, unemployment isn't. When it happens:

Capitalists will advocate for BI.
Market socialists will advocate for BI combined with government/coop ownership over some or all means of production.
Socialists that prefer planned economics could advocate for an expansion of universal basic services.
Primitivists will advocate for bans on AI or whatever, I dunno.

Massive unemployment is bad for everyone including the ruling class, as that leads to pitchforks, guillotines and chopped off heads.