What happens when a robot takes everyone’s job away? It’s a question of hanging around the office, fragments of thinking and the late night’s doomed spin. People scramble to find careers that “prevent AI”, but with prediction automation that replaces predictions for almost every role, anxiety feels justified.
Elon MuskHowever, I did not lose sleep. For years he has been repeating that society needs not only universal basic income—it requires something bigger: universal high income.
The latest reminder is that technology commentator David Scott Patterson claims on X that by 2030, “all work will be replaced by AI and robots.” Musk replied: “Your estimate is correct. But intelligent robots in the form of humanoid creatures will far exceed the human population, because everyone wants their own personal R2-D2 and C-3PO. Then, everyone’s industrial robots will have many people offering products and services.”
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This prompted another user to ask clearly: “How will those unemployed maintain their lives when robots replace workers?”
Musk’s answer was: “There will be universally high income (not just basic income). Everyone will have the best medical care, food, family, transportation and everything else. Sustainable abundance.”
It was a bold promise-he has responded for years. Where most politicians see UBI as a modest safety net, Musk insists that something more generous in the future is needed. He emphasizes “high” because in his opinion, when machines can handle almost all labor, it is basically not good enough.
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But natural follow-up is uncomfortable: Who pays for it? The United States has been buried under trillions of dollars in debt and funding the system of “everyone has the best everything” will mean rethinking the entire economic structure. Critics argue that this is a fantasy without a tax base to support it, while others object to automation itself that can generate the wealth needed.
Skeptics see today’s struggle as a warning sign. How realistic is it to expect a brand new universal income (not to mention “high”) to suddenly appear if the government cannot fully fund social security or health insurance? As one response responded: “If our government is cutting social security and health insurance, then you believe they will advocate for universal income – whether it’s high or otherwise?”
