Sam Altman backs collective AI ownership over universal basic income
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Apr 30
Sam Altman backs collective AI ownership over universal basic income
13 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Apr 30
In an interview with The Atlantic's Nicholas Thompson, the OpenAI chief said fixed cash payments may help but cannot meet needs as AI reshapes labour markets.
Altman, who once put $14 million into a $60 million UBI study, now points to models such as shared AI compute, equities or OpenAI's proposed Public Wealth Fund.
The shift follows research finding higher spending but no direct health gains from monthly payments, and reflects wider concern that AI could deepen inequality and public backlash unless its benefits are broadly shared.
With UBI showing mixed results, what practical barriers could derail the vision of distributing AI compute or wealth to every citizen?
Could Sam Altman's collective AI ownership model truly prevent economic stratification, or might it introduce new risks and inequalities we haven't foreseen?