Are you interested in a $10,000 monthly check that doesn't have a string attached?
That's the reality that former Openai researcher Miles Brundage said could be possible in the age of AI.
Technology leaders have long sought a universal basic income or UBI to offset unemployment caused by artificial intelligence.
Universal basic income is generally considered a monthly government scholarship to the entire population. This is different from the guaranteed basic income programs that many cities and states have been experimenting with recently. They usually provide repeat payments to a particular population based on their socioeconomic status. So far, most of these experiments have offered cash payments ranging from $500 to $1,500 per month.
Brundage said this week on X that policymakers should be thinking bigger.
“I think a much more generous UBI experiment (e.g. 10k/month/$1k/month) than ever tried before will have a big effect,” he writes.
Brundage said this is possible because of the impact AI has on the economy.
Help us improve our business, tech and innovation coverage at BI by sharing a little about your role. This will help you coordinate the content that matters most to people like you.
What is your position?
(2 of 1)
What products or services do I approve purchases in my role?
(2 of 2)
Continued
By providing this information, Business Insider agrees that this data can be used to improve the site experience and use it for targeted advertising. By continuing, you agree to accept the terms and privacy policy.
Thank you for sharing your insight into your role.
“$1k per month is related to what is viable under today's policy,” Brandy said. “$10k per month is related to what is policy viable over a few years due to AI-enabled growth.”
Advances in AI have already threatened some entry-level jobs. Many AI industry leaders, including Elon Musk, have been defended Basic Income Program. Openai CEO Sam Altman It funded one of the largest basic income studies and was given to recipients with $1,000 per month over three years.
Brundage resigned in 2024 as Openai's senior policy advisor and head of the AGI Readiness team. In a blog post at the time, he said the labour disruption caused by AI was the best for him.
“In the short term, I worry a lot about the opportunity to disrupt AI for people who desperately want work, but I think humanity should ultimately eliminate the obligation to work for a living, and doing so is also true as well as one of the most powerful arguments to build AI and AGI in the first place,” writes Brundage.
Brundage said our current system is not ready to deal with that reality now.
“It must be part of a policy conversation, not prepared for political, cultural or otherwise. A naive shift to the after-work world risks civilised stagnation (see Wall-E), and requires much more thought and discussion about this,” he said.
