Some artificial intelligence leaders are worried that a universal basic income (UBI) will not be enough. Many tech leaders have recently called for the possibility of UBI, but Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei thinks it will create inequality.
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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that he thinks UBI is better than having nothing, but he thinks a world where everyone can contribute would be better. In an interview with Time, Amodei gave his views on AI safety and AI-induced inequality. He also talked about the consolidation of wealth in the hands of a privileged few because of AI.
Anthropic’s CEO thinks UBI would be dystopian
The rapid advancement in AI technology has brought new possibilities, including an ideology of abundance due to plenty of production. This will also create extreme wealth for a few, but Amodei sees it as counterproductive for society. He said in the interview that,
“It would be kind of dystopian if there are these few people that can make trillions of dollars, and then the government hands it all out to the unwashed masses.”
Amodei is a former OpenAI employee who launched Anthropic two years ago, in 2021. He teamed up with five other OpenAI members and his sister Daniela. Anthropic is heavily backed by retail giant Amazon. The startup is also in direct competition with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
Amodei said he believed AI technology would have a profound impact on society. He said he wanted to build a company that is inline with human values for “public benefit.”
UBI is better than having nothing
Tech leaders, such as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, have long touted the concept of universal basic income. Speaking to British PM Rishi Sunak last year, Musk said, “There will come a point where no job is needed.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also an advocate of the very same idea, but he also adds the idea of universal basic computing.
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UBI is considered a solution to the economic impact of AI, which is expected to eliminate many job roles. All adult individuals will be given a cash amount to fulfill their needs regardless of their employment status or wealth.
The idea is that UBI will provide economic safety to the workers whose jobs are threatened by AI. The Anthropic’s CEO said that,
“It’s better than not handing it out, but I think it’s not really the world we want to aim for.”
While Amodei does not offer a solution, he said there should be a “conversation among humanity.” The Anthropic leader thinks that AI will change society and that a more inclusive solution is needed. He said, “I think in the long run, we’re really going to need to think about how we organize the economy and how humans think about their lives.”
Cryptopolitan reporting by Aamir Sheikh
