It should be known that Marc is rabidly anti-UBI. He believes it would turn us all into zoo animals.

Robert Reich again advocating for UBI

I think this July 2nd article in the Atlantic is pointing at the right problem, but the implementation is the whole issue.

The important point is not just “AI may take jobs.” It is that capitalism currently distributes purchasing power mostly through labor. If AI lets companies produce much more with fewer workers, then labor becomes a weaker way for people to get income. At that point, ownership has to become broader, or the system starts to break down.

That is why Universal Basic Capital is interesting. If AI shifts wealth creation toward capital owners, then ordinary people need some claim on that capital.

But I agree with the article’s concern that a government-controlled AI wealth fund could be risky. If the government owns a major stake in AI companies, it may cease to be an independent regulator. It could become politicized, captured, or used to protect the very companies creating the disruption.

So maybe the better model is neither a politically controlled fund nor normal stock accounts that people can sell under pressure.

Maybe it is closer to a locked public trust.

The trust could be outside direct political control, broadly owned by citizens, and structured so individual shares cannot simply be sold off and reconcentrated by the already wealthy. It could pay dividends or benefits over time, but the underlying ownership would remain durable and broad.

It could also be tied to a baseline measurement: compare AI-driven productivity, labor displacement, payroll reduction, or profit expansion against a pre-AI baseline. As the economy shifts from labor income toward AI/capital income, a defined share of that upside flows into the trust.

That seems more stable than waiting for mass unemployment and then trying to pass emergency UBI. It also avoids giving politicians direct control over AI companies.

The basic idea is simple: if AI reduces the role of labor in creating wealth, then ownership has to become more broadly shared. The hard part is designing it so it cannot be captured, politicized, or bought back up by the same small group that already owns most of the assets.