California Politicians Pushing for Robot Tax

San Francisco on the leading edge of workplace automation debate

The debate continues on the impact robots and AI will have and California is at the center of it. What happens there will be the blueprint for the rest of the US when it comes the politics of AI.

Some politicians there are pushing for a robot tax as the SanFrancisco area becomes more automated in the low skill service sector. Robots are being implemented in retail customer service and restaurant service. More is coming and so the debate is heating up as to the best course of action to take as jobs are lost to AI.

Taxing robots and automation seems like an obvious direction to go in. The revenue could be used to offset the transformation of humans out of current occupations and for training into new ones, or for some sort of UBI.

But going for an unfettered foray into AI with little Government intervention could be a better option, it is argued. It could mean a quick boost to the economy, expanding prosperity for everyone. Better jobs would result as the market begins to demand skills related to creating, maintaining, and managing AI and robots.

And demand for products and services with a human touch could increase in ways not yet seen. In this less fearful model, a more productive and efficient economy would arise before too much transitional pain is felt.

Keeping an eye on California and seeing what happens there, holds the key to determining AI's future economic strategies.The groups pushing for the robot tax, are the same ones that made the $15.00 an hour minimum wage a reality. The short term results of that have proven negative and ironically, have led to an increase in the presence of AI. So far, neither side seems too convincing. Only time will tell.