Author: automata

Finland to test ‘universal basic income’ for the unemployed

Finland to test 'universal basic income' for the unemployed

A group of 2,000 unemployed people in Finland will receive a basic income every month from the state, tax-free and with no strings attached. Proponents hope to prove such schemes boost people’s motivation to find work. Starting in January, 2,000 unemployed people in Finland will begin receiving 560 euros ($585) every month from the state with no strings attached.

The new scheme, which will make Finland the first country in the world to test a universal basic income at the national level, will be managed by Finland’s Social Insurance Institution, known as Kela.

"We think that this could be a big […]

46 percent of Idaho jobs could be automated in 10 years — Which jobs could be affected?

46 percent of Idaho jobs could be automated in 10 years — Which jobs could be affected?

Technology has already impacted Idaho’s work force, changing how jobs are done throughout industries. The state may be a long way out from life as portrayed on "The Jetsons," but one study projects that many jobs are at high risk of becoming mostly automated in the next 10 to 20 years.

Automation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however. Clear Springs Foods in Buhl has found that machines can help employees.

“It’s really made people’s jobs easier,” spokeswoman Callie Grindstaff said. “We’re really trying to inform people that manufacturing is way different than it used to be.”Machines that de-bone trout and perform […]

MLA Report: Basic income model worth exploring

Over the fall, I have been running a series on my website exploring the concept of basic income. The posts have received significant public feedback, suggesting to me there is broad interest in further exploring this idea, and how we could use it as a tool to help us tackle some of the problems we are facing in B.C.

There are many different models of basic income, but at its core it’s a payment that individuals receive from their government, which does not depend on fulfilling specific criteria, such as meeting job search or monitoring requirements.

There are a number of […]

VIDEO: Campfire Convention panel “Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality?”

VIDEO: Campfire Convention panel “Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality?”

The inaugural Campfire Convention took place in August 12-14, 2016, in the English countryside. It featured a keynote address from Brian Eno, in addition to an array of panel discussions, music performances, and other events.

One panel discussion was on the topic of universal basic income: Universal Basic Income: A Utopian Vision or a Viable Reality? Basic income for all – a universal weekly payment for all eligible citizens – can lead to the kind of creativity needed in the sort of world we would all like to live in. Would we all qualify and how would we fund it? […]

An idea that should die after 2016: the universal basic income

Finally someone comes out and says it. Work provides a sense of purpose to people that a welfare check by any other name cannot. It occupies one’s time in a way that keeps people from resorting to other desperate means of "validation." The monkeys chimping out in Chicago every time some crackhead gets disposed of by a law officer moonlighting as sanitation engineer are all on welfare. The moribund, aposematic campus feminists having PMS sperg fits about microaggressions are on de facto welfare (college assistance), and will be subsisting on the public dole once they graduate with their worthless, […]

Guaranteed basic income for all: An idea whose time has come?

Guaranteed basic income for all: An idea whose time has come?

Protesters dressed as robots demand a basic income for everyone during a demonstration at the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, Switzerland, in April 2016. An idea gaining traction in various part of the world is that everyone in society should receive an amount of money from the state to cover their basic cost of living. People would no longer be stigmatised on benefits, argue supporters.

Dependent women would become financially independent. People would be freed to care for the elderly, crime would fall and the general health of the population would improve. Particularly in an era of fears about future mass unemployment […]

Paul Wallace: Don’t fear the robots; they won’t kill jobs

Rogue One, the latest in the Star Wars franchise, has had mixed reviews but features one undisputed star: K-2SO, a gangly robot with the best lines. Movies of the distant future always tap into current anxieties – and the latest alarm is that the robots are coming. Droids may not conquer the world, but they will take over its work – white-collar as well as blue-collar. Could these filmmakers know something we don’t?

Previous scares, such as when Time magazine reported on “the automation jobless” in the early 1960s, were just that. But many technology gurus insist that this time […]

Obama Thinks AI Will Create Jobs

Obama Thinks AI Will Create Jobs

The recently released White House report on "Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy" takes a surprisingly positive stance on the rapid growth of artificial intelligence. According to the report, "a strong case can be made in favor of increasing federal funding for research in AI."

"As we look at AI, our biggest economic concern is that we wont have enough of it," says Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. "AI will help make the pie bigger. We want to make sure that everyone benefits from that pie, and that includes steps like modernizing the social safety net, […]

An idea that should die after 2016: The Universal Basic Income

An idea that should die after 2016: The Universal Basic Income

I have been UBI-curious in the past. But after watching this year’s global political upheavals, I am now firmly against the idea of giving every American adult a government check, no questions asked.

The universal basic income — a universal payment to every adult, designed to support a basic living standard regardless of whether the recipient works — has never been a broadly popular idea.

But it has become subject of fascination for policy wonks across the ideological spectrum because of the goals it intends to serve: decoupling subsistence from wage labor (a goal of the left), replacing complex safety-net programs […]

What can governments do when jobs run out?

What can governments do when jobs run out?

As automation makes more jobs redundant, policymakers cannot put off discussing universal basic income as an option. (Shutterstock image) Martin Ford writes in the Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future that around 47% of total employment in the US, around 64 million jobs, have the potential to be automated perhaps within a decade or two. Europe is already facing a crisis of jobs. Youth unemployment in Italy stands around 36% while it is nearly 44% in Spain. Thanks to offshoring and automation, we are seeing a polarisation in the labour market that is […]