Artificial intelligence might be the greatest factor influencing individual freedom and power since the industrial revolution. With all the talk about the “dangers of uncontrolled AI” there isn’t enough attention given to the dangers of controlled AI.

Universal basic income is slowly becoming one of the most talked about topics of the US 2020 election. DNC candidate Andrew Yang has made UBI one of his core policies in a response to the current trends we are seeing with the labour market and AI.

The argument for basic income has many points, but a reoccurring theme is how automation has made millions of people across the world unemployed. With the amount of manufacturing and labour jobs decreasing some have purposed that the best way to tackle mass unemployment is to introduce a monthly stipend to all citizens for basic necessities.

The idea of basic income is certainly not a new one, but neither is the radical idea of wealth distribution because of changes to industry. Before the industrial revolution in the west we had the feudal system, where land and resources were hoarded by wealthy landlords. The majority of the population were peasant workers who gave their labour in exchange for a pittance, with little to no means of moving up in social class.

With the industrial revolution a new system now known as capitalism was established. Instead of being forced to work under grueling conditions for landlords, workers could work for a wide variety of companies in the cities. Just like the previous feudal system though, many issues began to develop such as terrible working conditions, long hours and low wages.

Among these problems lurked another issue which was arguably much more significant. As technology became more advanced automation improved and many jobs became redundant. Skilled tradesmen found themselves no longer being needed in an industry that outpaced them.

Similarly to today many critics, such as Karl Marx, talked about radical change. Marx discussed how the workers should rise up to seize the means of production, in this case automation, so the balance of power could be restored and brought back to the people.