The death of human labor is highly exaggerated.
Yes, Universal Basic Welfare is coming.
AGI will bring an explosion of wealth and productivity, but scarcity will remain.
There will always be a scarcity of energy to do the work, a scarcity of the materials from which things are made, a scarcity of time to move materials from point A to point B, and a scarcity of choices (i.e., opportunity costs).
These scarcities will persist, and as long as they do, capitalism will always be needed to allocate our scarce capital.
With the advent of AGI and the resulting explosion of productivity and wealth, some may choose to do nothing but Netflix and chill on government handouts.
While they might live a materially adequate life, these people will be considered relatively poor.
However, there will still be plenty for humans to do, and many will want to continue contributing to society, even if it isn’t strictly necessary.
And, unsurprisingly, those who continue contributing will be considerably better off financially than those who don’t.
Here are 14 general occupations that will remain firmly under human control:
1/15 🧵