How to Make robots pay taxes, Social Security and Universal Basic Income

Robots. Social Security. Welfare State.
Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Taxes

Will robots ever pay taxes? It may sound like science fiction, but this debate is already on the table. Some people even go so far as to say that they will contribute decisively to the so-called Universal Basic Income (UBI).

The Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a socio-political policy proposal in which all citizens of a country receive a legally stipulated and equally established economic subsidy. A basic income can be implemented at a national, regional or local level.

It is worth saying that here we understand robots in their broadest sense: from computers equipped with artificial intelligence and powerful algorithms to androids such as Boston Dynamics or Honda’s Asimo.

During the industrial revolution, employees worked long hours on the assembly line, which was a dull and unskilled task. But does it make any sense in the 21st century?

In the future it is more than likely that many jobs will still require humans; specially those jobs that involve a human touch (teachers, social educators, therapists, psychologists…) or that have an artistic or creative aspect (designers, craftsmen, painters, writers, artists in general…).

In fact, there is a website that tells you what the chances are that your job will end up being replaced by a robot, namely, Will robots take my job?

To calm us all down a bit, new jobs and positions will emerge that don’t even exist yet.

However, robots with increasingly sophisticated algorithms will eventually replace more and more human workers to do any task that can be turned into algorithms. A cashpoint or ATM replaces an average of 6 workers in a bank branch; Wall Mart replaced its accountants with computers, algorithms rule finances, and we are used to seeing more robots than humans on assembly lines.

The crux of the matter is finding a win-win-win formula that works for everyone: workers who will be replaced by robots, the robots themselves, and the employers.

But is this even possible?

A groundbreaking proposal has emerged from the Blockchain community: What if robots paid taxes, our Social Security and UBI in cryptocurrencies?

The system would work like this:

  1. The robots would do their work, for which they would receive a salary in digital currencies; 🤖🟡🟡🟡
  2. then robots would allocate one third of their salary to pay for their maintenance, another 1/3 would go straight to the citizens’ wallet (the aforementioned Universal Basic Income), and finally, 1/3 would go to Social Security 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧🟡🟡🟡
  3. people could pay for goods and services, among other things, with such Universal Basic Income (UBI). 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧🟡🟡🟡🚙🏖👠
  4. business owners would benefit from this system and be able to reinvest and keep on providing goods and services to citizens. 👩‍💻 🟡🟡🟡

    It looks like a virtuous cycle: entrepreneurs can sell their products, citizens have an income every month and robots pay for their maintenance, UBI and Social Security. Those who want to have a higher standard of living can continue to work to supplement their UBI. Cryptocurrencies that generate the by-product known as ‘gas’ or other even other digital currencies or assets could also be used for this purpose.

It may take some getting used to, but we’re already used to vending machines, ATMs and talking to Siri or Cortana, our virtual assistants, not to mention Chat GPT.

It sounds like a brilliant win-win-win formula that could turn a future often seen as dystopian into an alternative one where people would enjoy more free time. After all, robots perform boring and repetitive tasks that we humans usually don’t like doing.

Robot drawn by Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Robot painted by Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Robot created by Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Robot drawn by Artificial Intelligence (AI)

It would be a great breakthrough in technology and a turning point in human history, both in social and technological terms. Whether this is just unfounded speculation or a serious proposal, it remains to be seen. Stranger things have happened.

Everything will be fine in other languages

Catalan, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Chinese…

Due to the current global coronavirus outbreak, the expression Everything will be fine has become popular, first in Italy, then in Catalonia and Spain. Kids are making drawings on paperboard or linen and hanging them on the balconies or windows. But how can we say this expression in different languages? Here you are:

Everything will be fine in Catalan

Tot anirà bé.

Everything will be fine in Chinese (Mandarin)

一切都会很好

Everything will be fine in French

There are several alternatives in French. These are the most popular:
“Tout va bien se passer”
“Tout ira bien”
“ça va aller”
“ça ira”

Tout va bien se passer Everything will be fine in French

Everything will be fine in Spanish

Todo irá bien

Everything will be fine in German

Alles wird gut!

Everything will be fine in Korean

다 잘될거야

Everything will be fine in Italian

Tutto andrà bene // Andrà tutto bene

everything will be fine in Italian
Andrà tutto bene

Everything will be fine in Japanese

大丈夫だよ

大丈夫だよ Everything will be fine in Japanese

Everything will be fine in Polish

Wszystko będzie dobrze

Everything will be fine in Portuguese

 Tudo ficará bem

 Tudo ficará bem
everything will be fine in Portuguese

Everything will be fine in Russian

все будет хорошо

все будет хорошо Everything will be fine in Russian

Everything will be fine in Swedish

Allt kommer att bli bra

Allt kommer att bli bra Everything will be fine in Swedish

Everything will be fine song in Italian and Catalan:

To conclude, just add that in English you can also say Everything will be ok, everything will be alright, Everything is going to be fine/ok/alright…

So chin up! What can’t be cured must be endured, but remember: every cloud has a silver lining, so for the time being we’ll have to bite the bullet and wait for the calm after the storm.