Our data, our knowledge, our jobs. We should benefit from the AI revolution, not suffer under it. 

As a response to the rapid growth of AI, we are demanding a Universal Basic Income (UBI). We expect a significant portion of AI-generated wealth to be shared directly with the public. 

We are fighting for an AI cash dividend for all of us.

The AI Industry is built upon the work of billions of people. Your social media posts, online shopping habits, the articles or videos you consume, create, or comment on, the art you make, the photos you take, the stories you write, the code you build, and any other interactions you engage in online: this is the data that AI needs in order to improve itself and grow in value.

Without our data (our property!), AI could not learn and grow. Without our data, AI would not be the trillion dollar industry that it is today. We are each contributors, so we each should get a piece of those profits. 

But this is not just about our data, it is also about what AI will grow into in the coming decade by using our data. As AI improves, it gets better at doing a range of jobs that right now humans do, jobs that humans get paid to do. AI is cheaper for a company to use than to pay the salaries of you and your coworkers.

This isn’t about 10 years from now, this is happening today. According to a recent report, "What we projected might take until 2032 to unfold is happening now before our eyes...[AI] is affecting more jobs, faster, and to a greater extent than we anticipated.” 

So… AI companies right now are stealing our data in order to build AI that will take our jobs. Everyday people lose now and then lose later, all while AI companies win by seeing record growth and profits.

Data shows that those already struggling to make ends meet are being disproportionately affected by AI. That means a Universal Basic Income should have universal impact - supporting each individual and family to have what they need to cover their most basic needs during the AI revolution. 

It’s time to change the system - we are calling on our local, state and federal elected leaders to pass AI legislation centered on the well-being of all of us.

No AI Without UBI! 

Sign the petition now. 

Need more information? Want to read some reports and data to understand the problem better? We got you covered. 

The AI problem is two-fold: they steal our data and they take our jobs:

 “AI systems freely scrape content from websites, social media, YouTube, newspapers, Wikipedia, and blogs, then statistically recombine this material and sell access to the results. Authors, journalists, visual artists, musicians, translators, and countless other creators find their work appropriated as training data, with no compensation or control”. - Building Pro-worker Artificial Intelligence Report by The Hamilton Project

A study by Fund for Humanity and the National Science Foundation found that by 2028 1 in 4 jobs are going to be disrupted by AI. Some reports point to even more drastic numbers.  

Here are just a handful of examples of AI has already disrupted and displaced people: 

• Jill is laid off along with thousands of their coworkers because the company is integrating AI software that can do accounting and legal tasks faster and cheaper than humans. The company saves millions of dollars from a reduced payroll and their revenue increases.
• Jackson’s hours are cut to part-time as AI software starts doing some of his job’s most common tasks. They lose their benefits. They now have to look for a second job to both make up for the lost income, and to now pay for healthcare coverage out-of-pocket.
• Some of the most common tasks done by AI software are for entry level jobs. With those jobs being done by machines, there are fewer ways for young people to enter the job market and grow their experience to better paying jobs. Rashida doesn’t see a way forward for her children’s generation to start working at her current company.
• A marketing firm decides to no longer hire graphic designers because they now create their content entirely with AI. Maria and seven other contractors are no longer hired by the company. They lose a paying client. 
  During these massive job disruptions, how can each of us earn enough income to pay our rent and put food on the table?

We need more than a bigger safety net. We deserve a solid ground for all of us to move forward and survive the transition to an AI economy.

We Need an UBI, NOW!