June 30, 2021
Zarkadakis in Fortune: How selling our personal data can fund universal basic income
Universal basic income (UBI) is the practice of giving every person in a jurisdiction a set, tax-free amount of income over regular intervals, irrespective of their wealth or employment status. Proponents of UBI point to the accelerating transition of the economy from secure, full-time jobs toward zero-hour gig contracts and argue that UBI will be necessary to fund citizen well-being in an increasingly uncertain labor market. The automation of many physical and cognitive tasks by artificial-intelligence systems further supports their argument, outlining a potential future where wage work will be intermittent and unpredictable for most people.
UBI used to be a fringe idea, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put it firmly in the spotlight. Trillions of dollars spent on both sides of the Atlantic to keep people out of the office during lockdowns have acted as a massive UBI experiment in UBI. GeoTech Center Nonresident Senior Fellow George Zarkadakis writes on UBI funding and its reception for Fortune magazine. Read the full article below:
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