Designing a super leisurely society

The spread of AI will bring forth a super leisurely society. We must find new ways to live that do not involve labor.

There is much that we can do: eat and drink, love, art, study, or even volunteer.

Having said this, it is unrealistic to think that all of our work will be taken over by AI and robots. As predicted by some, it is best to assume that only half of our workload will be taken from us.

The theme of this discussion is massive: will this super leisurely society function as an economic system?

When we say that half of our workload will be taken from us, we mean AI and robots will take over half of production. With us only having to do half of our jobs, and assuming that the world’s production output and GDP will stay the same, will society continue to function? This may be actually a problem of distribution rather than one of production.

One answer to this problem is a basic income system.

For this system, all citizens are provided a basic income regardless of their employment status. It has received attention in recent years as a bold policy designed for a super-aging society with ballooning social welfare costs, but the rise of AI and robots has also influenced the trend.

In June 2016, Switzerland had a national referendum on adopting the basic income system. For their program, adults would receive a monthly income of 2500 Swiss francs (approx. 275,000 JPY). This income would also be paid to foreigners. In exchange for implementing this system, the Swiss government planned to eliminate pension plans and unemployment allowance. The proposal was shot down with approximately 80% of voters voting against it. The arguments for basic income were ambiguous and the government itself opposed it.

However, I believe that a basic income system has potential. Because it is a bold measure that will completely change the current social security system, its feasibility must be analyzed. The first formula to work out is how much of a basic income must be paid in order to eliminate social security benefits.

Next, we would need to find out what effect paying all citizens a basic income would have on their willingness to work, and what effect it would have on the economy. Should it turn out to be feasible, then maybe AI and robots can go ahead and take our jobs, and only those who want to work will.

Professor Shigeki Morinobu of Chuo University has collected data for his study on this very matter. His results show that it would require 60 trillion JPY of taxes to pay each citizen 100,000 JPY a month. Remarkably, he also delved into policies that could be effective for procuring the funds. The sciences and humanities must come together to debate theories like these, AI technology, socio-economies, and find a solution that works for all parties.

How will we realize this AI society?

Murray Shanahan writes in his book The Technological Singularity that for an AI society to come about, a major social and political will is required.

Setting aside whether or not the future of AI is a bright one, I agree with him. I also believe that the time has come for us have a serious discussion about the issue and make key decisions.

In The Technological Singularity, Shanahan examines the possibilities held by digital personal assistants and discusses giving rights and personalities to AIs. It reminded me of when Ken Akamatsu brought up the subject of AI personalities at the Intellectual Property Headquarters.

How will AI personalities work when you consider that AIs will be copied, divided, and combined? What is there to be said about how civil rights are tied to the government? All of this is covered in the book. Designing the system is anything but easy.

From the topic of emulating brains, we reach the topic of uploading our consciences. This could very well lead to the creation of lifespan extending devices. Shanahan touches upon this, noting both the possibilities and dangers.

While most of AI technology still resides in theory, we must anticipate its implementation and mobilize our expertise from the areas of sociology, economics, politics, philosophy, religion, and other disciplines. It is no longer simply a problem for the researchers; it is a problem for everyone now.

A labor-less society and basic income. We must take our knowledge of disciplines such as economics and politics, have an international debate, and figure out the workings of a realistic system.