The Thinking Mirror

@ubi_works Fund UBI and more.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei shares what business leaders are saying behind closed doors AI could wipe out entry-level white collar jobs, even while it cures diseases like cancer and gives us cheap energy "We can't stop the AI bus" - We can fund UBI

@ubi_works UBI was always a worthy case. We need more than just UBI to help guide AI transformation for the benefit of the society. We need structural changes that will ensure that employment opportunities also expand as AI transformation speeds up. open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

We're about to hit a tipping point where firms stop hiring and just spin up more agents and buy more robots. We could already be there.

Now imagine if we were to combine UBI with additional structural reforms where it one has access to non-debt based capital to invest in their communities and build whatever their heart desires, while creating local infrastructure and employment opportunities. I say imagine more than just UBI.

Working mom's plea for a better safety net

Yes, of course. AI transformation will significantly impact all our lives, bringing both benefits and challenges. While it may level some things out, it will also disrupt the job market, and the transition will take time to stabilize. At the same time, wealth concentration is likely to accelerate. We need to think about how to keep the middle class strong through this shift. Recent layoffs—like Block reducing a large portion of its workforce and Oracle cutting tens of thousands of roles—along with broader reductions in operations staff, are signals of the disruption ahead. We need economic reforms that guide this transition in a way that benefits everyone. Relying only on wealth redistribution through taxation is not a long-term solution. I offer a different perspective if you are interested: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

@Thinking_Mirror @bullshitjobs @basicincome_uk I'm not saying that inequality isn't worth thinking about, but I think technology is rapidly leveling things out. In 1900 about 50% of the pop lived on farms, and they didn't even have radio. In 2000 2% live on farms and even people below the poverty line have smart phones.

The answer to all of our crises has always been the same: To give people money. Instead of forcing billions of people into poverty and to "earn" money. By helping corporations to fight over money. Wasting billions of lives and most of our resources and energy in the process.

Giving people money may not necessarily bring this vision to life. We need to create conditions that will change how we think about money and how it flows to create wealth. I invite you to an entirely different perspective on we can create the right conditions for everyone to thrive: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

Universal high income would not just mean people having more money. It would mean millions of humans finally being released from the constant low-grade panic that shapes almost every life decision today. Imagine waking up without the background fear of rent, bills, food, status, survival. Imagine choosing what matters based on meaning, curiosity, love, beauty, health, mastery, community, instead of economic desperation. Some people think that world would make humanity lazy. I think it would expose who we really are. A lot of today’s “productivity” is not purpose. It is coercion with better branding. In a world with universal high income, the most human parts of life could stop being side quests. Raising children. Making art. Building strange things. Caring for each other. Learning deeply. Starting over. Healing. Thinking. Living. Yes, some people would drift. But many more would finally have the space to become themselves. That is the part critics miss. The goal of civilization should not be to maximize the number of people trapped in necessary labor. It should be to maximize freedom, dignity, and human flourishing. AI and automation could give us that world. Not a world where people are obsolete. A world where survival is no longer the price of existing.

@SamTab1048995 @bullshitjobs @basicincome_uk As a floor it makes sense. I am just nudging the readers to start thinking beyond the minimum. I invite you to look at the issue of wealth concentration from a different perspective: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

@Thinking_Mirror @bullshitjobs @basicincome_uk For sure it won't solve all problems, but if done right it should end homelessness and poverty, and that's a great start.

Yes, AI will accelerate wealth concentration. While wealth redistribution is one mechanism to create balance, it is centrally controlled and creates government bloat that are conditions where corruption thrives. I invite you to view this problem from a different perspective so we can come to a more amicable solution that will benefit generations to come without coercion: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

He built a telehealth provider of GLP-1 drugs using AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Midjourney that is now pulling in $3 million a day and has only one other employee - his brother. We're going to see more stuff like this. The benefits of AI will concentrate into fewer hands.

@rushicrypto I see that this idea is grounded in good intentions, but it also invites central control and government bloat that generally create conditions for more corruption. I invite you to reflect on the issue of wealth concentration from a different perspective: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

Income tax rates should be 0% for poor people, 25% for middle class people, 40% for rich people, and 70% on every dollar past $10M. There should also be a 5% wealth tax on anyone with more than $1B in assets.

@haugejostein It’s the right balance between capitalism and socialism that creates prosperity.

It's socialism — not capitalism — that creates prosperity. Norway has one of the strongest welfare systems in the world. In Singapore, most people live in housing built by the government. In Luxembourg, social spending as a share of GDP is among the highest in the EU. Most countries that score well on this chart do so because they have socialist policies in place that increase social mobility and reduce economic precariousness.

The biggest challenge we face is wealth concentration. While UBI can help in the short term, it isn’t enough for the long run. We need mechanisms that restore purpose, expand employment alongside AI, and strengthen local infrastructure, all while preserving free markets and sovereign choice. I invite you to help build this mechanism for an abundant future for generations to come: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

"Let's call it a productivity dividend, because UBI has so much baggage. And if you're talking about how to distribute that productivity dividend, I can start putting it on at very low levels to avoid materially impacting someone's incentive to work."

@ubi_works @scottsantens Yes, AI is an excellent tool and it can make any process more efficient. But how does basic income replace a job when it is only about $1.400 per month per adult as of 2026?

Author of Bullshit Jobs, David Graeber says government is full of paper-pushers and bureaucrats deciding who gets what. Basic income could replace these bullshit jobs and make our government much more efficient.

@alekrupis @scottsantens UBI as a floor. Yes. But UBI is not as the answer to AI. We need to ensure that employment options also expand alongside AI transformation. I explore one such mechanism where new emolument pathways open up: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

@Thinking_Mirror @scottsantens What if AI and robotics and tiny group of extremely gifted and powerful individuals will create 99% of wealth. This seems extremely likely future development.

To become ready, we need to institute a Universal Basic Income floor of any size. We should make sure to protect EVERYONE from the downsides of technological displacement, and WE SHOULD ALL BENEFIT from AI-driven productivity growth because WE ALL TRAINED THE AI W/ OUR WORK/DATA.

@ubi_works @basicincome_uk UBI was never the answer to AI. The real question is who creates wealth, not just who receives it. I invite you to explore a different perspective on AI transformation: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

Legendary entrepreneur/investor Khosla suggested eliminating income tax below $100K and exploring UBI. "Let's tilt the equation towards labor, not capital." As a tech investor he knows first-hand that AI is killing jobs and compounding capital.

It won’t. We need to do better in guiding this transformation so we can create better societies. We need structural reforms that will allow employment expansion along side AI transformation. UBI was never the answer to AI. The real question is who creates wealth, not just who receives it.

@scottsantens How will UBI protect anyone? It will simlly create perpetual circle of poverty and slums and destroy any political power poor and middle class have had prior to it. Bread and circus to keep economically inept plebs calm is not a good policy. People need dignity and self respect

@scottsantens UBI was never the answer to AI. The real question is who creates wealth, not just who receives it. I invite you to explore a different perspective on AI transformation: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

UBI asks: How do we protect people from AI disruption? Capital asks: How do we profit from this disruption? I ask: How do we redesign the system so everyone thrives and imbalance balances itself without coercion? I invite you to explore a different perspective on AI transformation: open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

The transition from biological to synthetic labor creates a transient window of profound convexity. The Protocol: 1. Short the macro indices reliant on localized middle-class consumption. 2. Go long on the hyper-scalers providing the compute for humanoid telemetry. 3. Acquire equity in the raw material bottlenecks (actuators, high-density energy). Do not mourn the worker; monetize the systemic arbitrage.

Humanoids are already in our factories and it's only going to ramp up from here. Automation transformed manufacturing before. Humanoid robotics could extend it to far more jobs. The question is who benefits.

@ubi_works UBI was never the answer to AI. The real question is who creates wealth, not just who receives it. open.substack.com/pub/thethinkin…

They were tired of killing their enemies and watching their fellow soldiers die. They fell to their knees, their minds and bodies giving way, exhausted by the burden of a war that had lasted two thousand years. Slowly, as they caught their breath, they saw misery, despair, and death around them. In the stillness that followed, they recognized the vicious loops of anger, hate, and fear in the ways of the old. Awakened, they paused. They wondered if they could simply lay down the burden of the past, and with that came a deep desire for freedom. As they saw their own reflection in the other, they dropped their weapons for the sake of future generations. The cycles of haunted histories shattered like glass as they chose love over war. They chose love, over and over again.

Most conversations about AI and economic inequality stop at redistribution. This piece argues that's answering the wrong question entirely. If AI is reshaping how value is created and concentrated, the response has to go deeper than dividends and income floors.