Artificial Intelligence1 min read

US on right AI track; robots take jobs, right tax system needed: Larry Ellison

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison proposed using taxes levied on machine-added value to fund a "universal high income," which would exceed standard basic income models to support higher living standards. While dismissing claims that artificial intelligence will eliminate all human employment, he acknowledged that fields like rideshare services face substantial disruption. He illustrated that automation can dramatically lower costs, citing a scenario where robots construct a home that originally required 80 percent human labor. Ellison projected that this broader economic transition will take more than a decade to fully materialize.

Key points

  • Displaced workers in sectors like rideshare services will need new mechanisms to share in…: Displaced workers in sectors like rideshare services will need new mechanisms to share in the wealth created by automation.
  • Tax structures must adapt to automated labor over the next decade as machines assume unde…: Tax structures must adapt to automated labor over the next decade as machines assume undesirable tasks.
  • Advanced tools such as robotic surgeons and autopilots are intended to enhance human prod…: Advanced tools such as robotic surgeons and autopilots are intended to enhance human productivity rather than replace all workers entirely.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Larry Ellison believes AI can make everyone wealthier. The Oracle co-founder and chief technology officer says robots will take over some jobs, but argues that greater productivity and changes to taxation could help spread the resulting wealth. Speaking at Oracle AI World in Las Vegas, he described a future in which automation reduces the cost of goods and services while US governments collect revenue from the value machines create.

“We need to change from taxing human labour to taxing value added,” he said.

“So when the robots add value, all that value that the robots add is taxed, and we could have universal high income.” His argument links AI’s economic benefits to how governments distribute them, with less reliance on taxing people’s work.

How robots could reduce costs while replacing some jobs

Ellison rejected the suggestion that AI would eventually replace everyone, calling that prediction

“kind of nonsensical”. However, he acknowledged that automation would displace some workers, pointing to rideshare services as an example.

He argued that better tools could also allow people to accomplish more. In the supplied account…

Artificial Intelligence