Socher: UBI will deprive people of meaning and worsen societal crisis
Richard Socher · 20VC: Foundation Models: Who Wins & Who Loses | How Economies and Labour Markets Need to Change in a World of AI | China vs the US in an AI Race: What You Need to Know | Rich Socher, Founder @ You.com · Apr 18, 2025 · at 37:31
Richard Socher, founder and CEO of You.com, discusses the negative psychological impacts of Universal Basic Income (UBI) during a conversation on AI and employment with host Harry Stebbings.
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“I think the problem is that while most people complain about their jobs. It does give them meaning. It does give them meaning to be a valuable part of society and to have earned something that they can then give to their family, to their kids, and so on. And so I think UBI will take that meaning away, and we're already in a meaning crisis with the technology and society that we have set up for ourselves in many places, and I think that will just exacerbate it.”
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