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Can Universal Basic Income Transform Society?
The concept of a guaranteed income is gaining traction as a solution to the impact of AI and way to encourage more rewarding and socially valuable work
The concept of a guaranteed basic income might seem novel or neoteric, but it dates back to 1795, when the American founding father Thomas Paine suggested a “national fund” should pay every adult “rich or poor” a “ground rent” of £10 a year until the age of 50. Today, as artificial intelligence (AI) learns from the collective intellectual and creative output of humans and uses this to dispossess workers of their livelihoods, the idea of universal basic income (UBI) as a possible solution is gaining traction. Goodman is fundraising to run a micropilot that would give 15 people in two areas – central Jarrow in South Tyneside and East Finchley in north London – £1,600 a month for two years, to observe the impact on their lives.
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