- AI leaders like Elon Musk and Sam Altman have long called for a universal basic income.
- Rapid advances in AI are already causing job losses in various industries.
- David Sacks, Trump's AI and cryptocurrency czar, however, called UBI-style payments a "fantasy."
Americans probably won't be getting a universal basic income as long as President Donald Trump's AI czar has a say in the matter.
David Sacks, the cofounder of Craft Ventures and a member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia," which includes Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, is now a top White House policy advisor for AI.
It's an important role as rapid advances in AI bring about generational changes in how the world lives and works. The technology is already reshaping the job market, as chatbots like ChatGPT begin to do the work of entry-level employees.
Those at the forefront of the AI revolution have long warned about the risk AI poses to jobs, and have called for a universal basic income to soften the blow. A UBI is a government program that distributes no-strings-attached checks to all residents to spend how they please. Numerous cities and states are already experimenting with its humble cousin, a guaranteed basic income, which distributes checks to specific populations in need.
The idea has a long history, and support for these kinds of programs has skyrocketed at the local level in recent years. Any consideration of a basic income at the federal level, however, will likely have to wait. Sacks is not a fan.
The AI czar said on X this week that such government "welfare" is a "fantasy."
"The future of AI has become a Rorschach test where everyone sees what they want. The Left envisions a post-economic order in which people stop working and instead receive government benefits," Sacks wrote. "In other words, everyone on welfare. This is their fantasy; it's not going to happen."
Although reports from recipients who participate in basic income programs are overwhelmingly positive, they have faced political pushback.
Last year, Republicans in Arizona voted to ban basic income programs in the state, and similar opposition efforts have gained traction in Iowa, Texas, and South Dakota. Lawmakers in several states have argued that the checks increase reliance on the government and dissuade recipients from working.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman helped fund one of the largest basic income studies, which found, in part, that it encouraged recipients to work harder.
Elon Musk, who until recently was the face of Trump's effort to reduce government spending, has said a basic income will likely play a role in future economies as AI continues to rapidly develop.
Sacks' comments came as another prominent AI leader, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, called for not just a universal basic income, but a "universal high income" at SXSW in London this week.
When asked about AI's impact on jobs, Hassabis said there would be a "huge amount of change," but that "new, even better" jobs could replace affected positions and boost productivity.
"Beyond that, we may need things like universal high income or some way of distributing all the additional productivity that AI will produce in the economy," Hassabis said.
Representatives for the White House and DeepMind did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
