An AI Jobpocalypse Will Cost More Than a Dividend

When the makers of a new technology continually warn of a white-collar bloodbath, and measure their products by how well they replace human knowledge work, they shouldn’t be surprised when people believe it’s coming for their livelihoods.

Yet a techno-optimist Facebook post from a key South Korean policymaker predicting an era of abundance while musing ways to offset the pains of its impact to employment has caused an uproar. After market volatility, presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom was forced to clarify his viral screed that, among other things, floated the idea of paying citizens a dividend using excess tax from AI profits.