Impacts of Artificial Intelligence on Employment: Universal Basic Income as a Social Policy Measure
Gökhan Murat, Belemir ŞengülDevelopments in artificial intelligence and robotics technology in the last 20 years have highlighted the possibility of substitution between technology and labor. As artificial intelligence and autonomous robots are increasingly integrated into working life, tasks undertaken by machines are also increasing. The role of the labor factor in working life and its proportion in national income are decreasing. Hence, this study aims to examine the development process of artificial intelligence and autonomous robots and their impact on employment. The feasibility of universal basic income as a social policy measure is investigated to address the possible negative effects of artificial intelligence and autonomous robots on employment. The context development, advantages, and objections of universal basic income are examined, and its importance as a social policy tool is mentioned. Consequently, results show that in the long term, artificial intelligence and autonomous robots will force the transformation of jobs, with many jobs being performed by robots with artificial intelligence. Universal basic income can be adopted globally as a social policy measure to ensure the balance of production and consumption and increase demand for goods and services.
Yapay Zekânın İstihdama Yönelik Etkileri: Bir Sosyal Politika Önlemi Olarak Evrensel Temel Gelir
Gökhan Murat, Belemir ŞengülSon 20 yılda yapay zekâ ve robot teknolojisinde yaşanan gelişmeler teknoloji ve emek arasında yer değişimi yaşanma ihtimalini ön plana çıkarmıştır. Yapay zekâ ve otonom robotların çalışma yaşamına daha fazla entegre olduğu görülürken, makinelerin üstlenmiş olduğu görevlerin paralel ölçüde arttığı görülmektedir. Emek faktörünün ise, çalışma yaşamındaki görevi ve ulusal gelirden aldığı pay azalmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı, yapay zekâ ve otonom robotların gelişim sürecini ve istihdam üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Yapay zekâ ve otonom robotların istihdam üzerindeki muhtemel olumsuz etkilerinin çözümünde ise evrensel temel gelirin bir sosyal politika önlemi olarak uygulanabilirliği araştırılmıştır. Bu çerçevede evrensel temel gelirin gelişimi, avantajları ve itirazları incelenerek, sosyal politika aracı olarak öneminden bahsedilmiştir. Sonuç olarak yapay zekâ ve otonom robotların uzun vadede işleri dönüşüme zorlayacağı ve birçok işin yapay zekâya sahip robotlar tarafından yapılacağı saptanmıştır. Üretim ve tüketim dengesinin sağlanabilmesi, mal ve hizmetlere olan talebin artırılabilmesi için evrensel temel gelirin süreç içerisinde bir sosyal politika önlemi olarak küresel ölçekte yaygınlaşabileceği tespit edilmiştir.
In the 21st century, developments in technology have increased exponentially, and many changes have occurred worldwide. In addition, significant investments have been made in artificial intelligence and autonomous robot technology, and great advances have been made in many areas. This prevalence is expected to grow exponentially in the coming periods, and the investments made are expected to increase further in the coming years. The main reason for this prevalence is that artificial intelligence is now seen in all areas of our daily lives and can be used in many areas. Researchers suggested that artificial intelligence may surpass human intelligence in the coming years and become a threat to humans. All these developments may profoundly affect the working life. The acceleration of automation, particularly in parallel with artificial intelligence and autonomous robots, forced the balance in the labor market to change and increased productivity considerably compared with previous years. The increase in productivity with machines connected to artificial intelligence has increased the concerns of the workforce to serious dimensions. The reason is that although the demand for labor has decreased, the demand for autonomous robots and machines with artificial intelligence has increased. Moreover, the robot stock has renewed a new record with 3.5 million units only in 2023, and these records will increase exponentially every year. All these developments have increased concerns about the employability, social security, and stability of the welfare level of individuals. Therefore, the risk of a decrease in the demand for the labor factor owing to automation has led to the introduction of universal basic income as a social policy proposal. In this context, the study aims to examine whether universal basic income can serve as a tool that allows individuals to survive in situations of high automation, assume the role of insurance against hardship, and make society and the economy function greatly.
From this perspective, universal basic income is defined as regular cash transfers offered to all citizens living in the country or region, without any conditions. A basic income, which is expected to play a protective role against the risk of technological unemployment, is expected to keep the purchasing power of individuals in balance and increase the demand for goods and services. In addition, individuals can take entrepreneurial risks easily because they have a basic income, which provides them with confidence. In this context, in many pilot studies, particularly in developing countries, individuals and households with a basic income can take entrepreneurial risks easily and that they encourage people to work. In addition, owing to the economic freedom that individuals have partially provided, a basic income enabled them to choose the job they wanted and increased productivity on a parallel scale. Moreover, a basic income contributes to poverty reduction owing to its role as insurance. Again, many studies showed that when the incomes of poor individuals meet their basic needs, the tendency of absolute poverty decreases.
Although universal basic income provides a positive environment for social protection, poverty, and economic balance based on unemployment, it is still intensely discussed. Moreover, referendums are held in many countries, and it is not yet implemented on a definite scale. Despite all these objections, the idea of universal basic income is expected to be in line with technological developments and be proposed as the potential solution to possible problems from the labor market to social life. From this perspective, this paper is structured with three main sections. The first part theoretically discusses the concept of artificial intelligence and its development and examines its historical process. The second part evaluates in detail the effect of artificial intelligence and its autonomous robots on employment. Finally, the third part discusses the advantages of and objections to universal basic income as a social policy measure to counter the possible destructive effects of technology.
