AI basic income splits opinion: handouts or population cull?
The promise of AI handouts clashes with depopulation theories. An analysis of the basic income debate, automatic IMV payments and the future of work.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
AI handouts or population cull? The basic income dilemma
A widely circulated analysis argues that artificial intelligence will not bring a universal basic income for everyone, but rather a drastic reduction of the population. Pablo Gil's claim about "handouts for everyone" invites two opposing readings: one from those who believe the State will distribute the wealth generated by machines, and another from those who see it as the prelude to extreme social control, with digital currencies and social credit.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Government is already moving in that direction: last November, the Executive approved the automatic granting of the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (Spain's minimum living income) to unemployed people who exhaust their jobless benefits without finding work, as reported by El Economista. Some see the measure as the first brick of that universal handout, while others view it as a patch that fails to address the root of the problem.
Consumption breaks down if nobody has an income
From a macro perspective, the paradox is obvious: if AI and robots take over production, who will consume? Machines don't buy iPhones or dine out. Without demand, the economic model collapses. That is why some analysts argue that a basic income is inevitable to sustain consumption. But skepticism is fierce: "any money received without effort will be worthless," the harshest critics conclude, pointing to the inflation that massive money printing would generate.
The shadow of population reduction
The most unsettling argument is the one suggesting that elites have no interest in keeping the entire population alive. If AI can produce without humans, eliminating 80% of the population is presented as a more efficient solution than redistribution. The 2020 pandemic is mentioned as a rehearsal for social control and information management. As conspiratorial as it may sound, the underlying economic logic is ruthless: maintaining billions of unproductive people carries a cost not everyone is willing to bear.
The debate remains open: either artificial intelligence frees us from work through a universal income, or it turns us into a dispensable species. The answer lies neither in the algorithms nor in official speeches, but in the balance of power between capital, the State and a citizenry that, for now, is still the majority.
Related debates in the forum
A widely circulated analysis argues that artificial intelligence will not bring a universal basic income for everyone, but rather a drastic reduction of the population. Pablo Gil's claim about "handouts for everyone" invites two opposing readings: one from those who believe the State will distribute the wealth generated by machines, and another from those who see it as the prelude to extreme social control, with digital currencies and social credit.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Government is already moving in that direction: last November, the Executive approved the automatic granting of the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (Spain's minimum living income) to unemployed people who exhaust their jobless benefits without finding work, as reported by El Economista. Some see the measure as the first brick of that universal handout, while others view it as a patch that fails to address the root of the problem.
Consumption breaks down if nobody has an income
From a macro perspective, the paradox is obvious: if AI and robots take over production, who will consume? Machines don't buy iPhones or dine out. Without demand, the economic model collapses. That is why some analysts argue that a basic income is inevitable to sustain consumption. But skepticism is fierce: "any money received without effort will be worthless," the harshest critics conclude, pointing to the inflation that massive money printing would generate.
The shadow of population reduction
The most unsettling argument is the one suggesting that elites have no interest in keeping the entire population alive. If AI can produce without humans, eliminating 80% of the population is presented as a more efficient solution than redistribution. The 2020 pandemic is mentioned as a rehearsal for social control and information management. As conspiratorial as it may sound, the underlying economic logic is ruthless: maintaining billions of unproductive people carries a cost not everyone is willing to bear.
The debate remains open: either artificial intelligence frees us from work through a universal income, or it turns us into a dispensable species. The answer lies neither in the algorithms nor in official speeches, but in the balance of power between capital, the State and a citizenry that, for now, is still the majority.
Related debates in the forum
- Leticia Dolera "a rapist can be a good person" · 59 replies
- RTVE: "Ayuso should be in jail because she is responsible for the deaths of 7,291 people". · 33 replies
- Can someone explain the thing about the girls and Bugs Bunny? · 190 replies
- And Marc Vidal showed us his true paw... · 50 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (75 replies).
More summaries
-
Social Control Narratives and the End of the Individual
Analysis of narratives on social control, the end of the individual, and current power dynamics.
-
Immigration and Socialism: The Dilemma Facing Spain
Economists confront the debate between capitalism fueled by high immigration and socialism characterized by low migration. Examining benefits, emigration, and the 'smoke economy.'
-
Europe plans to pay you to live: universal basic income reaches Brussels
The EU registers a universal basic income initiative. AI, Spain's IMV and the digital euro: the plan to pay you to live starts on 04/01/2027.
-
Ceuta and the external enemy: the debate A3 TV failed to handle
A pundit born in Ceuta and expelled from Vox challenged the migration crisis narrative on A3 TV in Spain. Afra Blanco and the host berated him. The debate…
-
Local police shut down makeshift barbershop on Gijón beach in Spain
A chair, a comb and a pair of clippers were all it took to set up a barbershop on San Lorenzo beach; local police removed the entrepreneurs with four officers.
-
Spain's Ceuta handover debate: working-class apathy meets geopolitics
The possible handover of Ceuta to Morocco exposes a divide between a detached working class and those warning of a domino effect in the Strait of Gibraltar.