Taxes on robots in response to massive unemployment? California is considering doing this

(Original title: Tax the Rich and the Robots? California's Thinking About It)

Netease Technology News August 25 news, according to "Linkage" magazine reports, if you want to know people's views on robots and artificial intelligence (AI), depending on the subject of the inquiry: Some people may think that robots and AI will take you away Others think that they are very safe, at least in the near future. However, the fact is that automation always leaves people unemployed. Only this time, even highly skilled work will be affected. Some people worry that robots and AI will overturn the human labor force in the future.

These include Jane Kim, a San Francisco councillor who recently launched an activity called the "Jobs of the Future Fund" to study "stolen work" across the state. The machine levies a "payroll tax." This tax revenue will be used to support such things as job retraining, free community colleges, or universal basic income. Kim believes this may make robots more acceptable to future humans.

Kim was inspired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who in the February interview mentioned the idea of ​​taxing robots. Since then, Kim has begun lobbying stakeholders, including trade unions, while pushing San Francisco and California to explore this possibility.

In order to tax robots, it is necessary to solve these problems first: What is a robot? Even a robot expert can hardly agree. Is AI stealing human work in the form of a robot? No, but if you want to honor your promise, you may need to tax it. Kim said: "We are still studying definitions of robots and job replacements. Therefore, the start of future fund work will allow us to discuss what kind of practical measures will be taken across the state."

This means that Kim did not ask California to pass legislation tomorrow, asking them to enact a robot tax law. This will be a public forum that expands her dialogue with stakeholders, including ordinary Californians. Of course, this may not necessarily mean imposing a robot tax. Kim said: "Maybe eventually this will become a different kind of tax or different types of sources of income."

Regardless of whether the "robot tax" proposal is practical or effective, it reflects people's concerns about more and more machines and increasingly complex software. Such progress can make our life better, but it also makes us feel the fear of survival. Because work not only allows you to survive, it also determines your value to a large extent. So what does it mean if a machine can jump out to replace your location?

In the proposed taxation of robots, Kim did not receive general support. Gates' speech caused a great uproar. As you can imagine, companies do not particularly like new taxes. All students in this field do not think this wave of automation will weaken the workforce. Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said: "These are new technologies. They are also different technologies, but it is unclear what this means. Even if the number of cars needed is decreasing, There has been no mass unemployment."

However, this wave of automation is fundamentally different because it is about software other than hardware. The rise of AI means that even white-collar jobs may no longer be safe. Think about how much your work is repetitive, and replacing it with a very clever machine can be very easy. To make the problem even more complex, robots and AIs can add more work than eliminate them. After all, the software you use to work is much more useful than it was five years ago. New collaborative robots will increasingly work side by side with humans.

In theory, this will increase productivity and reduce human work time. What does this nuance mean for the robot tax? Kim said: "In the simplest case, we are looking for a robot that can do human work. We know this is not simple, because automation is mainly to automate various tasks." Gold's point of view is not to levy a tax on robots across California, but to make society aware that no matter where automation takes us, the future labor force will become completely different. (small)