The march of artificial intelligence through the American economy is accelerating, and with it comes a question that policymakers can no longer ignore: What happens when machines become better than humans at an ever-expanding range of tasks?
While President Trump's administration embraces AI as the future engine of global economic growth, researchers and economists are sounding alarms about the technology's potential to displace millions of workers. This looming disruption has revived interest in what was once considered a fringe policy idea: Universal Basic Income (UBI).
The Coming Wave of Job Displacement
The numbers paint a stark picture. The Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity projects that AI will disrupt 45 million American jobs by 2028, while McKinsey estimates that 30% of all U.S. roles will be automated by decade's end. These aren't just manufacturing jobs or simple data entry positions—the disruption is expected to cut across both blue and white-collar professions.
"Entry-level white‑collar roles are heading for a reckoning as routine work gets automated," notes economic analyst Le Dong Hai Nguyen. "The apprenticeship model for young college graduates is cracking as firms favor lean, expert‑led teams enabled by AI."
The casualties are already mounting. Customer service chatbots have largely replaced human agents online, and tech CEOs increasingly cite AI adoption as the driving force behind recent layoffs. From transportation workers facing autonomous vehicles to administrative staff dealing with automated systems, the scope of potential displacement spans virtually every sector.
Benjamin Lockwood from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School identifies "repetitive or formulaic tasks" as most vulnerable. But economist Evelyn Forget suggests asking a different question entirely: "Which jobs can AI not replace?"
The UBI Solution
As AI threatens to concentrate wealth among technology owners while casting millions into unemployment, Universal Basic Income is gaining traction as a potential remedy. The concept is straightforward: provide every citizen with an unconditional monthly payment to cover basic needs, regardless of employment status.
"Just as the extraordinary crisis of the Great Depression required the bold policy of Social Security, the disruption caused by AI requires an equally bold response—a Social Security for everyone in the form of UBI," argues Gisèle Huff, whose organization advocates for such policies.
The logic is compelling. If AI dramatically increases productivity while eliminating jobs, society could theoretically afford to provide everyone with basic income. As Carnegie Mellon's Aran Nayebi explains, "AI makes UBI more necessary, given that it will likely lead to a large portion of the workforce being automated."
Rita Fontinha from Henley Business School sees a dual benefit: "As the productivity benefits of AI become clearer, the argument that society can afford a baseline income for all becomes more credible."
From Theory to Practice
UBI isn't just theoretical anymore. Houston Frost, chief product officer at payment firm Usio, has worked on multiple pilot programs across America, including New York City's Bridge Project for low-income mothers and Chicago's Resilient Communities Pilot, which provided 5,000 households with $500 monthly for a year.
These experiments, while limited in scope and duration, are establishing the groundwork for more comprehensive programs. Current pilots typically offer between $250-$1,500 monthly for periods ranging from six months to two years, focusing on specific demographics like young adults, single mothers, or essential workers.
"Many nonprofits and local governments are already experimenting with numerous direct cash assistance and pilot UBI programs," Frost notes. His company alone has distributed over $250 million through various cash-assistance initiatives across major U.S. cities in just two years.
The Challenges Ahead
Despite growing interest, UBI faces significant obstacles. Public opinion remains skeptical, and fiscal conservatives warn of unsustainable spending and potential inflation from unconditional payments.
Oxford economist Carl Frey points to a fundamental flaw: "The problem with UBI is the 'U.' Making payments universal sends scarce funds to people who don't need them." He advocates instead for targeted assistance like a "negative income tax" that supports only those below certain income thresholds.
The political reality is equally daunting. As Frost observes, "Society has not been particularly supportive of the concept of UBI. It's taken decades for advocates to finally see the first pilot programs come to fruition."
Economic Catalyst for Change
However, economic necessity could force a shift in perspective. History shows that crises can rapidly change what's politically possible—from the New Deal's response to the Great Depression to the massive stimulus programs during the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic.
"A weak economy can definitely spur the U.S. into action," Frost explains. "Economic pain is one of our greatest motivators. So perhaps we will see a broadening acceptance of higher taxes for business and wealthy individuals, with the proceeds going to help balance the economic scale through programs like UBI."
The Federal Reserve's traditional tools of monetary policy may prove inadequate if AI simultaneously causes deflation through increased productivity and unemployment through job displacement. "It's not easy to get a loan when you don't have a job, regardless of how low interest rates are," Frost points out.
A New Social Contract?
As AI capabilities expand and adoption accelerates, the question isn't whether disruption will occur—it's how society will adapt. The concentration of AI benefits among capital owners while workers face displacement mirrors historical patterns of technological change, but the scale and speed may be unprecedented.
The transformation from radical idea to mainstream policy often happens gradually, then suddenly. UBI pilots are building evidence and infrastructure. Economic pressures are mounting. Political awareness is growing.
Whether Universal Basic Income becomes reality may ultimately depend not on its theoretical merits, but on how much economic pain society experiences before embracing bold solutions. As previous technological revolutions have shown, adaptation is inevitable—the question is whether it happens proactively or reactively.
The machines are advancing. The only question now is whether our social safety nets will keep pace.
The post-pandemic boom that lifted lower-income workers has receded, leaving America once more divided between the haves and have-nots, The Wall Street Journal reports. The economy is boosting higher earners with robust 401(k) accounts, valuable homes and booming stock portfolios. Conversely, wages are flatlining, unemployment is rising and housing costs remain punitive for poorer Americans. August wage growth tells the story: low-income earners had their worst month since 2016, while high-income their best since 2021. As a result, the rich are driving spending more than ever.
Google announced on Wednesday that it’s updating the Discover page in its flagship Search app to allow you to follow specific publishers and creators to surface more content from those you like.
The update follows a feature Google rolled out last month, allowing users to pick their choice of news sites and blogs for the Top Stories section in search results.
In the weeks ahead, Google says people will also start to see different types of content on Discover, including articles, YouTube Shorts, and posts from X and Instagram from creators and publishers across the web. Moving forward, Google will add more types of sources to this mix, it said.
With these moves, Google is trying to give users more control over their content, while also expanding its Discover page to include a wider variety of sources.
It is not clear what Google’s criteria are for creator content to show up on the Discover page, however. (A response to a question about this was not provided ahead of publication.)
To use the feature, when you see content from a particular publisher or creator, you can tap their name to view all their content on one page and opt to follow them. Google said it will show more content from sources you follow.
These announcements have come at a time when publishers are seeing their traffic plummet because of Google’s AI search. The search giant even launched a product called Offerwall to let publishers earn revenue from sources other than ads.
Alphabet’s Waymo plans to start offering autonomous cab rides in Nashville next year in collaboration with ride-hailing firm Lyft, the two companies said.
Riders in the Music City will initially be able to hail self-driving cabs through the Waymo app. As the service grows, riders will also be able to use the Lyft app to match with a Waymo vehicle, the companies said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, Lyft will invest an undisclosed sum in an autonomous vehicle fleet-management facility, where it will charge and maintain Waymo vehicles. Lyft’s services should maximize the time Waymo’s vehicles are in operation and reduce costs, the two companies said.
It would be the first commercial deployment of Waymo's driverless taxis on the Lyft ride-hailing network. Waymo already offers rides in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta through the Uber app.
Amazon says it’s making a $1 billion investment to raise wages and lower the cost of health care plans for its U.S. fulfillment and transportation workers.
The Seattle-based company said Wednesday the average pay is increasing to more than $23 per hour and said that some of its most tenured employees will see an increase between $1.10 and $1.90 per hour. Full-time employees, on average, will see their pay increase by $1,600 per year.
Amazon also said it was lowering the cost of its entry health care plan to $5 per week and $5 for co-pays, starting next year. Amazon said that will reduce weekly contributions by 34% and co-pays by 87% for primary care, mental health and most non-specialist visits for employees using the basic plan.
Amazon has a global workforce of 1.5 million workers.
Last December, seven Amazon facilities went on strike, an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the e-commerce company for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
That same month, Amazon reached a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that requires the online behemoth to adopt corporatewide ergonomic measures at facilities across the country. The agency claimed hazardous working conditions led to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities.
Walmart had announced in January 2023 that U.S. workers would get pay raises the following month, increasing starting wages to between $14 and $19 an hour. Starting wages had previously ranged between $12 and $18 an hour, depending on location.