It sounds like a late-night conversation with friends, what if artificial intelligence becomes so capable that we simply start working less. and what if we tax machines instead of people?
It turns out you don’t need to dream big to make this conversation a reality. It’s now on the agenda of OpenAI.
OpenAI released a proposal suggesting AI doesn’t merely increase productivity. It also offers a way of restructuring the economy. Shorter working weeks. New forms of public wealth. Taxes on work done by AI.
And this might be what is truly disturbing and compelling about this report: If the robots are doing all the work, what are people doing?
The report advocates for a four-day workweek, which is already under trial in countries around the world. The results have been good, higher productivity, greater satisfaction among workers, fewer burnouts.
We all know how we feel on Friday afternoon when we try to get things done. The broader picture of that experiment, shows that the four-day workweek could be a reality after all.
However, OpenAI is also considering the levying of a tax on AI or robots, not in a “Robots pay income tax” way that will make your head spin, but instead on how productivity is improved by AI systems, a subject already much debated by economists.
Gates previously proposed that robots taking human jobs should be taxed to recoup the lost tax revenue. While this proposal may seem unrealistic and certainly unenforceable, it may prove necessary to prevent runaway inequality. Others may argue, however, that such a tax may have the unintended consequence of dampening innovation.
Another suggestion is the establishment of a public wealth fund. At first blush, the concept may sound somewhat nebulous, but it can be simply described as using the massive economic value of AI and distributing it more widely among the citizenry rather than to the select few that reap the rewards of the innovation. Countries already have their own sovereign wealth funds from which to draw.
None of this, of course, occurs in isolation. Artificial intelligence has already begun moving quickly. Occupations have changed, and while certain job categories have grown, others have shrunk.
These developments in employment: this report, indicate that these changes are taking place at the present moment rather than being something that will happen in the future.
Perhaps, however, that’s the point. If one of the world’s leading AI organizations starts discussing changes for the economy, then it’s no longer speculation. So this is where we find ourselves now.
A future where work could mean fewer hours and more creativity… or one where the rules are still being written, and nobody’s quite sure who’s holding the pen. We’ll just have to wait and see how it pans out. One thing is for sure. The age of AI isn’t just coming. It’s already knocking on the door.
