Abstract
The effects of automation on our economy and society are more palpable than ever, with nearly half of jobs at risk of being fully executed by machines over the next decade or two. Policymakers and scholars alike have championed the Universal Basic Income (UBI) as the panacea. This paper examines the shortcomings of UBI in addressing the automation-led large-scale displacement of labor by analyzing empirical data from previous UBI-comparable experiments and presenting theoretical projections showing potential impacts of UBI in relevant living standards and employability metrics among pensioners. We then consider and recommend the retainment of existing means-tested welfare programs while bolstering funding and R&D for more up-to-date worker training schemes as a more effective solution to technological unemployment.
Highlights
SB Ekhad’s The Flamboyant Partridge had been on the bestselling list last year
The risk posed by automation on the workforce is of great concern, with more severe impacts on manufacturing-focused developing countries like China, where 77% of jobs are forecasted to be replaced by automation (Frey et al, 2016)
The goal of this paper is to assess the shortcomings of Universal Basic Income (UBI) vis-à-vis existing means-tested welfare programs and determine whether UBI is an effective policy in response to technological unemployment
Summary
SB Ekhad’s The Flamboyant Partridge had been on the bestselling list last year. Eager to meet the writer at the Oxford Literary Festival, his fans were shocked to discover that their revered author was merely “a stack of computer hardware fronted by a screen that flickered on to reveal a human-like avatar face” (Sautoy, 2019). SB Ekhad was, 3B1, an AI machine created by the University of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute. This incident embodies the automation that threatens to replace human jobs. In response to the threat of mass displacement of labor due to automation, economists, politicians, and even the business community have come to see Universal Basic Income (UBI) as the panacea. With the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been renewed interest in implementing UBI, even among the right side of the political spectrum. It is endorsed by many tech giants, notably Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson, who hope UBI would “encourage creativity and innovation.”. The goal of this paper is to assess the shortcomings of UBI vis-à-vis existing means-tested welfare programs and determine whether UBI is an effective policy in response to technological unemployment
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