According to Musk, there really won't be any other options.
"There is a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automation," says Musk to CNBC. "Yeah, I am not sure what else one would do. I think that is what would happen."
In a country with universal basic income, each individual gets a regular check from the government. Switzerland considered instituting a universal basic income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2578) a month this summer. Voters ultimately rejected the plan, but it sparked a broad, global conversation.
While society is slowly mulling over the idea of a basic human income, technology is rapidly changing the global workforce.
For example, in the future, semi-trailer trucks will be able to drive themselves. And though that won't become the status quo for a while, it will mean that there won't be a need for quite as many truck drivers, says Musk.
Some drivers will transition to fleet operators, responsible for monitoring the status of a fleet of trucks, not any one individual truck. If a truck appears to be having issues, then the fleet operator would come in remotely and solve the problem.
"Actually, it's probably a more interesting job than just driving one [truck]," says Musk.
It's likely those truck drivers who no longer have a job might see the situation differently.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...l-have-to-pay-your-wage/ar-AAjUyJK?li=BBnbfcL
People keep saying its like horse and buggy to cars or the industrial revolution or the electronic revolution...this is different from that.
Past revolutions made major shifts in things but they actually CREATED jobs in and of themselves...The industrial revolution brought with it mass manufacturing which meant building factories and machines and hiring people to operate that stuff...in fact you had to hire people to make the material that was needed to make the factories and machines. People didn't need to acquire new skills as much as redirect the skills they had for a new function.
A guy that used to till the land with a team of mules and hoe is now sitting in a machine to do it but HE's still on the farm tilling the land. In the robot/AI age he's not even in the machine on the farm anymore..And the computers (programmed by someone else) knows how to farm as efficiently or better than he does because they don't need breaks and don't have to worry about injuries and work place hazards. So where does that leave him?
Well he'll just figure it out or someone will come up with new way...and if they don't then what??
Not everybody can code and not everybody WANTS to code. Technology is moving faster than its even been....much faster than it was during the industrial revolution. The biggest difference is before machines were created to do more work but PEOPLE had to operate the machines...today machines are created to more work and the machines can operate THEMSELVES.
So where does that leave people who can't make that pivot? And theres going to be MILLIONS of people who can't make that pivot.
This next leap in tech and cultural revolution MAY open up a way for national basic income....I mean people/cargo moving is some of the most basic labor jobs most people have or can get. Hell Uber showed that ANYONE can be a cab driver... and that also tends to be the job many immigrants get and if those jobs get replaced with AVs (automated vehicles) whats going to happen to those millions of people? What thing is on the horizon that can compensate for the lost labor??
There may be no choice but to either expand welfare or create a basic income entitlement.
"There is a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automation," says Musk to CNBC. "Yeah, I am not sure what else one would do. I think that is what would happen."
In a country with universal basic income, each individual gets a regular check from the government. Switzerland considered instituting a universal basic income of 2,500 Swiss francs ($2578) a month this summer. Voters ultimately rejected the plan, but it sparked a broad, global conversation.
While society is slowly mulling over the idea of a basic human income, technology is rapidly changing the global workforce.
For example, in the future, semi-trailer trucks will be able to drive themselves. And though that won't become the status quo for a while, it will mean that there won't be a need for quite as many truck drivers, says Musk.
Some drivers will transition to fleet operators, responsible for monitoring the status of a fleet of trucks, not any one individual truck. If a truck appears to be having issues, then the fleet operator would come in remotely and solve the problem.
"Actually, it's probably a more interesting job than just driving one [truck]," says Musk.
It's likely those truck drivers who no longer have a job might see the situation differently.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...l-have-to-pay-your-wage/ar-AAjUyJK?li=BBnbfcL
People keep saying its like horse and buggy to cars or the industrial revolution or the electronic revolution...this is different from that.
Past revolutions made major shifts in things but they actually CREATED jobs in and of themselves...The industrial revolution brought with it mass manufacturing which meant building factories and machines and hiring people to operate that stuff...in fact you had to hire people to make the material that was needed to make the factories and machines. People didn't need to acquire new skills as much as redirect the skills they had for a new function.
A guy that used to till the land with a team of mules and hoe is now sitting in a machine to do it but HE's still on the farm tilling the land. In the robot/AI age he's not even in the machine on the farm anymore..And the computers (programmed by someone else) knows how to farm as efficiently or better than he does because they don't need breaks and don't have to worry about injuries and work place hazards. So where does that leave him?
Well he'll just figure it out or someone will come up with new way...and if they don't then what??
Not everybody can code and not everybody WANTS to code. Technology is moving faster than its even been....much faster than it was during the industrial revolution. The biggest difference is before machines were created to do more work but PEOPLE had to operate the machines...today machines are created to more work and the machines can operate THEMSELVES.
So where does that leave people who can't make that pivot? And theres going to be MILLIONS of people who can't make that pivot.
This next leap in tech and cultural revolution MAY open up a way for national basic income....I mean people/cargo moving is some of the most basic labor jobs most people have or can get. Hell Uber showed that ANYONE can be a cab driver... and that also tends to be the job many immigrants get and if those jobs get replaced with AVs (automated vehicles) whats going to happen to those millions of people? What thing is on the horizon that can compensate for the lost labor??
There may be no choice but to either expand welfare or create a basic income entitlement.
