Modest Conversations - The Information 15 - Jobs, UBI, and Inequality - Joe Lonsdale, 8VC
Jun 11, 2017
Joe Lonsdale, founder of 8VC and investor-entrepreneur, weighs in on jobs, UBI, and inequality. He critiques universal basic income and tech messianism about AI. They debate how AI reshapes work, the value of new service and care jobs, housing and anti-NIMBYism, and income-share models for education.
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UBI Is Well-Meaning But Economically Naive
- Universal basic income stems from good intentions but oversimplifies economics and incentives.
- Joe Lonsdale warns UBI can erode individual responsibility and misdiagnose technological job fears.
AI Job-Death Fears Are Overstated
- Technological progress hasn't produced runaway productivity gains in the last 20 years.
- Both Sam Lessin and Joe Lonsdale argue the 'all jobs vanish' AI narrative is self-serving and premature.
Inequality Enables Some Valuable Risks
- Inequality can enable investment and large-scale philanthropy that drives innovation.
- Joe Lonsdale argues the problem is when inequality restricts opportunity at the bottom, not inequality itself.
