Musk Backs $60,000 Universal High Income to Counter AI Job Losses
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 5
Musk Backs $60,000 Universal High Income to Counter AI Job Losses
2 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jun 5
Summary
Elon Musk endorsed universal high income as “the best way” to respond to AI-driven unemployment, pointing to annual payouts of more than $60,000 even for people displaced from work.
The proposal builds on universal basic income but argues AI could lift productivity enough to support a higher guaranteed payment as human labor demand falls sharply.
The idea is gaining traction among AI thinkers who expect automation to reduce the amount of work available to humans rather than simply reshape existing jobs.
That framing pushes the debate beyond short-term layoffs toward how societies might distribute income in an economy where AI captures a growing share of output.