AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order

by Kai-Fu Lee

I fear that many of those in Silicon Valley are firmly in the latter camp. They see UBI as a “magic wand” that can make disappear the myriad economic, social, and psychological downsides of their exploits in the AI age. UBI is the epitome of the “light” approach to problem-solving so popular in the valley: stick to the purely digital sphere and avoid the messy details of taking action in the real world. It tends to envision that all problems can be solved through a tweaking of incentives or a shuffling of money between digital bank accounts. Best of all, it doesn’t place any further burden on researchers to think critically about the societal impacts of the technologies they build; as long as everyone gets that monthly dose of UBI, all is well. The tech elite can go on doing exactly what they planned to do in the first place: building innovative companies and reaping massive financial rewards. Sure, higher taxes required to fund a UBI will cut into those profits to a certain degree, but the vast majority of the financial benefits from AI will still accrue to this elite group. Seen in this manner, UBI isn’t a constructive solution that leverages AI to build a better world. It’s a painkiller, something to numb and sedate the people who have been hurt by the adoption of AI. And that numbing effect goes both ways: not only does it ease the pain for those displaced by technology; it also assuages the conscience of those who do the displacing.