Future of Life Institute Podcast How to Rebuild the Social Contract After AGI (with Deric Cheng)
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Jan 27, 2026 Deric Cheng, Director of Research at the Windfall Trust and lead of the AGI Social Contract consortium, explores how frontier AI could concentrate corporate power and reshape labor. He outlines resilient job types, taxation and welfare options, land and consumption taxes, and a phased policy roadmap to decouple economic security from work. The conversation surveys global coordination and practical reforms without diving into technical solutions.
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Train Humans As AI Intent Communicators
- Prepare humans to act as conduits between powerful AI and corporate decision-makers as 'intent communicators.'
- Train people to translate customer needs and system limits up to strategic leaders using AI-augmented workflows.
Human-To-Human Roles Stay Valuable
- Cheng sees interpersonal, in-person roles (nannies, teachers, coaches) as resistant to automation and likely to retain or increase wages.
- He expects virtualizable roles like therapy to become premium luxury options above AI substitutes.
Artisan Goods Resist Automation Longer
- Cheng predicts low-volume artisans and authentic creatives keep value due to human connection and production scarcity.
- He expects AI firms to ignore niche high-skill, low-volume goods for a long time because they lack scale incentives.
