Public split on basic income for workers being replaced by robots

WASHINGTON, DC — Americans are divided on their support for a hypothetical universal basic income (UBI) program that would guarantee a minimum income for workers who lose their jobs due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Forty-eight percent support and 52% oppose a UBI program for workers displaced by technology.

This data comes from a Northeastern University/Gallup survey on Americans' attitudes toward artificial intelligence and its impact on their lives and work. The mail survey of 3,297 US adults was conducted from Sept. 15 to Oct. 10, 2017. The report found that 73% of Americans predict that AI will result in more job losses than it creates.

Under a UBI program in general, the federal government would provide every adult below a certain income threshold a certain amount of money each year. A UBI program is often cited as a potential offset to the disruption that may occur following the adoption of new technology. Several high-profile business leaders, including Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg, have publicly discussed this idea. Limited trials of the concept have been carried out in Finland and Canada. A pilot program is also planned for San Francisco.

Some US demographic groups are more supportive of the idea than others. More than six in 10 self-identified Democrats (65%), for example, say they would support a UBI program, compared to just over one in four (28%) Republicans.

Additionally, about half of most age groups of US adults express support. However, support is significantly lower — 38 percent — among Americans age 66 and older.

Americans' attitude to funding a UBI

While the exact cost of a UBI program in the US depends on the specifics, it is estimated that the program could run into the trillions of dollars. US adults who favor a UBI program show mixed support for the idea of ​​funding such programs through taxes: 46% say they would be willing to pay higher personal taxes to fund the program, and 54% say they would not.

While support for increased personal taxes to fund a UBI program is mixed, the vast majority of proponents favor taxing the companies that benefit most from AI to fund the program. Eight in 10 supporters of a UBI program (80%) agree that these companies should pay more taxes to support such a policy. Support for higher taxes on these companies is over 74% among supporters of a UBI program across most demographic groups.

Implications

Estimates show that up to 47% of all US jobs are at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence, and most Americans agree that adopting this new technology will create fewer jobs than it makes obsolete. Additionally, half of American workers (51%) say they would need additional education or training to find a comparable job if they lost their current position due to new technology, though fewer — 43% — are confident they could ensure this education. This potentially creates a situation where the adoption of AI will lead to significant unemployment and disruption.

Americans are questioning their support for the idea of ​​a universal basic income program, which has been pushed by some high-profile advocates, including Elon Musk, to help ease the pain of the artificial intelligence revolution. Americans' mixed levels of support for a UBI program for those losing their jobs to AI may be related to the finding that most do not personally fear losing their jobs to the new technology.

Reading the full Northeastern University/Gallup report “Optimism and Anxiety: Views on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education's Response.”