Joe Rogan throws cold water on Bernie Sanders’ socialist AI utopia
In an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience published on Tuesday, podcaster Joe Rogan questioned Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) about his vision for a socialist AI-run utopia.
Sanders, along with tech oligarchs like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, hopes to usher in a global society where most human labor is automated by AI and a large percentage of humans rely on universal basic income (UBI). UBI is a social welfare system where the government guarantees every citizen a standard minimum income. These payments are unconditional and transferred to citizens regularly without any pre-qualification. The concept stems from the Marxist ideal of wealth redistribution and is seen as a way for the government to exert direct control over citizens.
An experimental study published last year found that participants who received UBI worked less, were less productive with their time and spent nearly all the money they received each month on increased consumption.
On Tuesday’s episode, Rogan questioned Sanders about how humans will find meaning in such a society.
“Andrew Yang was talking about this giant epidemic of automation in this country and the solution being universal basic income, but that’s not the solution for meaning,” Rogan said. “And how do we convince all of these people that they have to not just take this money from the government, but also take action to give themselves meaning in their lives?”
“That is . . . the trillion dollar question,” Sanders replied. The senator said that AI bosses like Altman and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have suggested equipping humans with AI-generated companions to stave off loneliness.
“I'm trying to think here, and I wish I had better answers for you,” continued Sanders.
“What do you do to all those people to give them some sort of a sense of meaning?” Rogan pressed. “You’re essentially redefining life for them.”
“I don’t have the answer to that question,” Sanders admitted. “That’s the problem. I don’t think anybody does.”
At another point in the episode, Rogan expressed his fear about UBI.
“Once people are entirely dependent upon the state for universal basic income, then it becomes a question of now your entire life, all the money that you get, being from the government. The problem is if you step outside the lines, if you do anything that the government doesn't like, they’ll pull the plug on you,” he argued.
Sanders’ AI dystopia is already underway
In April, a startup aiming to replace all human labor launched. Mechanize hopes to replace the $60 trillion global workforce with AI programs and machines, claiming it will benefit the public. When asked how people will pay for goods and services if they are unemployed, Mechanize founder Tamay Besiroglu said there are other sources of income besides wages. In his AI-run economy, Besiroglu explained, consumers can purchase goods and services with money earned through rent and dividends—options that are mostly available to the upper class—or government welfare.
Meanwhile, Silicon Valley billionaires are continuing to build a global database of biometric data to create digital IDs for the distribution of UBI. Worldcoin, founded by OpenAI’s Altman and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, scans people’s irises and uses the data to create digital IDs.
“Worldcoin is building a directory of every human by scanning their irises with a baseball-sized orb,” Business Insider reported. “From that scan, it creates a unique code users can use to log into other platforms. Eventually, it might also be how humans collect universal basic income.”
Over six million people worldwide reportedly use Worldcoin, which social media platforms like Reddit, Telegram, and Discord are beginning to integrate as an alternative login method. The company calls its digital ID “World ID 2.0: A human passport for the internet.”
Altman has been open about his intention to use Worldcoin as a platform for UBI. He has already begun the process by distributing WLD, Worldcoin’s digital currency, to users who sign up. People who have scanned their irises for Worldcoin have received as many as 20 WLD, worth about $18.71.
