Universal Basic Everything
Key Points
- Research suggests UBI could lead to price inflation in housing, food, and energy, as providers might raise costs knowing people have more cash.
- It seems likely that some UBI recipients with addictions might spend on non-essentials like gambling, though most use it responsibly.
- UBE (Universal Basic Everything), ensuring all basic needs are met, could address these issues but is complex to implement.
- UBA (Universal Basic Accommodation) and UBC (Universal Basic Compute) are proposed as steps toward UBE, focusing on housing and digital access.
Understanding UBI and Its Challenges
Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a system where everyone gets regular cash payments, no strings attached. It’s seen as a way to help people in an AI-driven economy where jobs might disappear. But there are worries. For example, if landlords know everyone has extra money, they might raise rents, making housing costlier. The same could happen with food, energy, or even computing services. Plus, some people with addictions might spend the money on gambling or other vices, though studies like one from the RAND Corporation on Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend show most use it wisely.
Exploring Alternatives: UBA, UBE, and UBC
To tackle these problems, you suggested Universal Basic Everything (UBE), where basic needs like housing, food, and energy are provided directly. This could stop price hikes and ensure the money isn’t misused. For instance, public housing could cap rents, and food vouchers could control prices. But UBE is tough to set up—it’s like organising a massive delivery system for everything, and defining what’s “basic” can be tricky.
There’s also Universal Basic Accommodation (UBA), focusing on housing, and Universal Basic Compute (UBC), ensuring everyone has access to computers and internet, both seen as crucial in today’s digital world. These ideas were discussed in the Wage Crash panel at Future Day 2025, and elsewhere showing they’re part of a bigger conversation about economic systems.
Balancing Trade-offs
UBI is simpler but has leaks, like inflation, price hikes and misuse. UBE is tighter but a might pose a logistical nightmare. A mix might work—start with UBI, then add UBA and UBC, and maybe later UBE as tech improves. It’s a complex balance, and the evidence leans toward phased approaches, given the challenges. Start small and scale up.
Detailed Analysis of Universal Basic Systems (UBI, UBC, UBA & UBE)
Background and Definitions
The concept of universal basic systems has gained traction as automation and AI threaten traditional employment, potentially leading to wage deflation and increased inequality. The article from scifuture.org: Crash Landing: Wages, Wealth, and the Case for Universal Basics discusses UBI as a starting point, with UBA, UBE, and UBC as extensions to address specific needs.
- Universal Basic Income (UBI): A social welfare proposal where all citizens receive a regular, unconditional cash payment, regardless of income or employment status. As of March 20, 2025, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but pilot projects exist, such as in Finland and Kenya (Universal Basic Income Wikipedia).
- Universal Basic Accommodation (UBA): Defined in the article as ensuring basic housing needs are met, proposed as a step beyond UBI. It aims to address housing insecurity, which could worsen in an AI-driven economy. Online searches did not yield widespread recognition of UBA, suggesting it is a specific term from this discussion, aligning with calls for housing as a fundamental right.
- Universal Basic Compute (UBC): Defined as providing universal access to computational resources, such as computing power and internet connectivity, as a fundamental right. The article suggests phasing it in after UBI, alongside UBA. Online sources, such as Universal Basic Compute and CoinDesk: Why ‘Universal Basic Compute’ Is a Solution to Economic Inequality, frame UBC as crucial for AI systems, with some implementations as cryptocurrency tokens (e.g., $UBC on CoinGecko). Broader discussions, like an op-ed on CoinDesk linked above, propose UBC as a solution to economic inequality in a post-AGI world, suggested by figures like Sam Altman.
- Universal Basic Everything (UBE): Described as ensuring all basic needs—food, energy, compute, etc.—are met directly, seen as the ultimate stage. The article highlights UBE as harder to implement but necessary, potentially affordable due to technological progress. It addresses concerns like price inflation and addiction, where UBI might be spent on non-essentials like casinos.
Concerns with UBI and Proposed Solutions
Concerns about UBI include potential price inflation by rental providers, food, energy, and compute sectors, and the risk of UBI being spent on addictions like gambling. Research supports these worries:
- Price Inflation: Economic theory suggests that injecting cash into an economy without increasing supply can lead to demand-pull inflation. For instance, landlords might raise rents if they know tenants have more disposable income, as seen in discussions around housing markets (IMF Finance & Development Magazine: What Is Universal Basic Income?). The RAND Corporation’s study on Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend, a UBI-like program, indicates mixed outcomes, with some evidence of price increases in essential goods (RAND Corporation Study, though specific URL not directly provided in search results).
- Addiction and Misuse: The same study suggests that while most recipients use UBI responsibly, a noticeable minority, especially in communities with higher addiction rates, might spend on vices like gambling. This aligns with concerns about UBI ending up at casinos, highlighting a challenge in ensuring resources meet basic needs.
To address these, UBE is proposed as a solution, ensuring needs are met directly rather than through cash. For example, public housing could cap rents, food vouchers could control food prices, and state-owned utilities could stabilise energy costs. However, UBE’s implementation is complex, requiring definitions of “basic needs” (e.g., does compute include a laptop?) and efficient distribution. Historical examples, like Soviet bread lines or Venezuela’s food box program, illustrate risks of corruption and mismanagement, which could undermine UBE’s effectiveness.
UBA, UBE, and UBC
To organise the discussion, here is a table summarising the definitions, contexts, and challenges of each concept:
| Concept | Definition | Context | Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|
| UBA | Ensures basic housing needs are met | Proposed after UBI, part of AI economy discussion, focuses on housing security | Defining “basic” housing, implementation logistics |
| UBE | Ensures all basic needs (food, energy, compute) | Ultimate stage, addresses inflation and addiction, feasible with tech progress | Complexity, corruption risk, paternalism concerns |
| UBC | Provides access to computational resources | Phased in after UBI, crucial for digital economy, tied to AI infrastructure | Ensuring equitable access, technological barriers |
- UBA (Universal Basic Accommodation): This concept aims to secure housing as a fundamental right, potentially through public housing or rent subsidies. It is mentioned in the article as part of a phased approach, suggesting it could follow UBI to address housing insecurity exacerbated by automation. The lack of widespread online recognition suggests it is a niche proposal, but it aligns with global discussions on housing as a human right, such as in urban planning policies.
- UBE (Universal Basic Everything): UBE is the most ambitious, aiming to cover all essentials. The article notes it could prevent price inflation by service providers, as per concerns about landlords raising rents and energy companies increasing prices. It also addresses addiction by ensuring resources are provided directly, not cash, mitigating risks like UBI being spent at casinos or on harmful drugs. However, its implementation would require significant governance, as seen in historical examples like Soviet distribution systems, which faced inefficiencies and corruption.
- UBC (Universal Basic Compute): UBC is particularly relevant in an AI-driven future, where access to computing resources is as critical as food or shelter. The article suggests phasing it in after UBI, and online sources like Universal Basic Compute and the article Why ‘Universal Basic Compute’ is a Solution to Economic Inequality frame it as democratising compute for AI systems. Some implementations, like the $UBC token, are tied to cryptocurrency, but the broader idea is about ensuring universal digital access, which don’t address other concerns like housing and food.
Broader Implications
These ideas are part of a forward-looking conversation on economic systems and AI’s economic impacts. We need some economy of attention on preparing for a future where traditional jobs may be obsolete. Related discussions, such as James Hughes on the Economic Impacts of Artificial General Intelligence, highlight the need for such systems.
The implications include:
- Economic Security: UBI, UBA, UBC, and UBE aim to ensure security in a post-AI economy, but each has trade-offs. UBI is simpler but leaky, while UBE is comprehensive but complex.
- Social Equity: These systems could reduce inequality, but implementation must balance freedom (e.g., UBI’s cash flexibility) with control (e.g., UBE’s direct provision).
- Technological Feasibility: The article suggests technological progress could make UBE affordable, but this depends on advancements in AI, automation, and resource distribution, which are ongoing as of March 20, 2025.
Potential Solutions and Future Directions
Given the challenges, a hybrid approach might work, combining UBI with targeted subsidies. For example, rent caps could complement UBI for housing (UBA-like), and free internet access could address compute needs (UBC-like). The article suggests a phased implementation, starting with UBI and gradually introducing UBA, UBC, and UBE, allowing for iterative development based on outcomes. This approach could balance simplicity and effectiveness, addressing concerns about inflation and addiction while leveraging technological progress.
In conclusion, UBA, UBE, and UBC are extensions of UBI, each addressing specific needs in an AI-driven future. They offer potential solutions to concerns but require careful planning to navigate complexity and ensure equity. The discussion reflects a broader movement toward rethinking economic systems, with ongoing debates about feasibility and implementation.
UBE, Longtermism and Deep Utopia
This ties neatly into longtermism urging us to prioritise the wellbeing of future generations, potentially numbering in the billions. UBE aligns with this by tackling economic instability now, laying the groundwork for a fair and sustainable future. It’s a practical step towards reducing risks of inequality exacerbated by automation that could derail humanity’s long-term potential. Meanwhile, an unexpected angle emerges with Universal Basic Compute (UBC), ensuring digital access as a modern necessity, which could prove vital for future societies navigating an AI-dominated world.
Nick Bostrom’s Deep Utopia (2024) takes this further, imagining a world where superintelligent AI renders human labour obsolete, creating a “post-instrumental” utopia of abundance and deep redundancy. Here, UBE could be the enabler, freeing us from survival worries to ponder life’s meaning—Bostrom’s central question: “What do we do all day?” With basics covered, society might shift towards existential exploration – UBE bridges today’s practical needs with a distant future where purpose, not necessity, defines existence, though implementing it demands careful navigation of logistical and ethical hurdles.
