by Guest Contributor | Sep 30, 2023 | News
In the city of the future, citizens would feel secure and able to flourish. That includes income security. Technology is both forcing and enabling lifestyle change. The best response is to maximise the gains it offers and mediate any loss it imposes. Automation will continue to offer a plethora of accessible services, but will also continue to change employment patterns, and the income which goes with employment. Some jobs will be lost; other new services will create jobs.
To read more, click here.
by Peter Knight | Sep 13, 2023 | News
Comingle is an app under development that will unite people who want to make sure no one goes a week without income.
For a quick introduction, watch this video.
“We all need some extra money sometimes. Other times, we have a little extra to give. By connecting our finances using today’s technology, we can form a secure, anonymous network of generosity that automatically pools money and moves it to where it’s needed the most.”
In early September 2023 Comingle launched a crowndfund campaingn to raise US$75,000 to cover the development costs required to boost Comingle to the next phase, which will allow verification of user identities, detect fraud, address security concerns, and begin transferring real money on a weekly basis.
The ambitious goal is to get this launched and have at least 100,000 Americans living with a small UBI floor of around $50 a week by the end of 2025 that all those who join collectively make possible.
As of September 16, 57% of the goal had been reached with 19 days left to complete the job. Contributions are being matched (“Every time we hit another $1000 our matching donors will contribute $3000! Every dollar you donate now = $4!“). Comingle founder Conrad Shaw writes: “One of our $10K matching donors is doing a 1-1 match and remaining anonymous. The other $10K matching donor is doing a 2-1 match and is Katie Moussouris, who made a name for herself as a white hat hacker (the good kind of hacker) and is CEO/Founder of Luta Security.”
ITSA President and BIEN Member Scott Santens has a blog post supporting the campaign. He thinks is an important project, and writes that Forward Party Co-Chair Andrew Yang “dropped into one of our Spaces talking about this, and donated $5k live during the stream.”
by Peter Knight | Jul 8, 2023 | News
AI threatens to end many jobs, but a basic income could ease the burden. Canada should lead this new frontier in improving human well-being.
Read more.
by Sarath Davala | Jun 29, 2023 | News
We are seeking a dedicated and enthusiastic Volunteer Website Manager to join us at BIEN. As the Website Manager, you will play a crucial role in ensuring our website effectively communicates our mission, values, and resources dedicated to advocating for Basic Income.
To see the full job description, click here.
by Peter Knight | Apr 7, 2023 | News, Research
Abstract of a recent paper:
“We investigate the potential implications of large language models (LLMs), such as Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPTs), on the U.S. labor market, focusing on the increased capabilities arising from LLM-powered software compared to LLMs on their own. … Our findings reveal that around 80% of the U.S. workforce could have at least 10% of their work tasks affected by the introduction of LLMs, while approximately 19% of workers may see at least 50% of their tasks impacted. … The projected effects span all wage levels, with higher-income jobs potentially facing greater exposure to LLM capabilities and LLM-powered software. Significantly, these impacts are not restricted to industries with higher recent productivity growth. Our analysis suggests that, with access to an LLM, about 15% of all worker tasks in the US could be completed significantly faster at the same level of quality. When incorporating software and tooling built on top of LLMs, this share increases to between 47 and 56% of all tasks. … We conclude that LLMs such as GPTs exhibit traits of general-purpose technologies, indicating that they could have considerable economic, social, and policy implications.”
The full paper can be found here.
