by Toru Yamamori | Jun 22, 2016 | News, Research
The Productivity Commission of the Australian Government has released a research paper entitled ‘
Digital Disruption: What do governments need to do?‘ on 15th June 2016. The paper looks at the role of government in the face of ‘potentially disruptive technological change.’ A universal basic income is refereed as a long term consideration:
While Australia’s tax and transfer system will continue to play a role in redistributing income, in the longer term, governments may need to evaluate the merits of more radical policies, including policies such as a universal basic income.(p. 69).
by Toru Yamamori | Jun 3, 2016 | News
acTVism Munich, an independent, non-profit and grassroots media outlet, will broadcast a program on Basic Income Guarantee on 3rd June 2016.
In the program, Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister, and Noam Chomsky, MIT-professor, an established linguist who is also known as a radical activist, will speak.
The program can be watched on acTVism Munich from 3rd June.
by Toru Yamamori | May 30, 2016 | News
The symposium on ‘Artificial General Intelligence and Basic Income’ will be held on 3rd May 2016, in Tokyo, Japan. The symposium is organised by the Robotic Increase Center.
The venue:
Samurai Startup Island,
T Building 2F 2-2-28,Higashishinagawa,Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo,1400002,JAPAN
The time: 19.00-21.00
The speakers:
Kenichi Kobayashi (The Robotic Increase Center)
Toru Yamamori (Doshisha university)
The language used in the symposium is Japanese. The detail can be here (PDF also in Japanese).
by Toru Yamamori | May 1, 2016 | News
The organizing committee of the BIEN Congress 2016 is
happy to announce that the registration for the Congress is open now!
The 16th BIEN congress will be held for 7-9 July in Seoul, South Korea.
The congress travelled to Cape Town, South Africa in 2006, its first time outside Europe, then to São Paulo, Brazil in 2010, its first time in the Americas, and is now coming to Asia for the first time.
Please click on the following link for registration: https://bien2016.org/en/registration/
by Toru Yamamori | Apr 30, 2016 | News
Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greece finance minister, encourages the Swiss people to vote ‘yes’ for universal basic income (UBI) at the national referendum scheduled on 5th June.
In the video interview with the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, the Greek economist argues that the future picture of technological progress could be either the Star Trek version, in which the progress can make us equal and free, or the Matrix version in which the progress enslaves us.
In another interview, with the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger (the translation of which is available here), he says:
Because Switzerland is doing so well, it is ideal for experiments with the basic income. But don’t forget, in spite of the wealth, the quality of life is decreasing. What good is a well-paid job if you are scared to lose it? This constant fear paralyzes people and makes them ill. Switzerland should see the basic income as an investment in the future.
Varoufakis, first spke out in favour of basic income in an interview published for The Economist.
Varoufakis will be one of speakers at the UBI event on 4th May in Zurich, Switzerland.
