Reclaiming UBI

Joe Williams

Work and Values in the Age of AI. This series explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we think about Universal Basic Income (UBI), work, and inequality. As UBI is increasingly touted as a response to the economic impacts of automation and technological change, the podcast unpacks the narratives around UBI, shedding light on whose interests they serve and what they leave out. Bringing together economic analysis, critical perspectives on AI discourse, and philosophical reflections on the meaning of work, the series aims to help listeners engage more thoughtfully with UBI as a broader social and ethical question about how we organize work, value, and human life.

Episodes

  1. Episode 1

    UBI and the Story of Work

    Host Joe Williams shares the story that sparked the series: watching his freelance translation work dry up in late 2025 as AI reshaped his industry. In this audio-documentary style podcast, Joe uses this opportunity to ask bigger questions. If automation does hollow our the job market, what happens to the social contracts around work? If work is not only a paycheck, but also a source of identity as it is for many people, what might we be able to do to build up societal resilience now? Joe begins to explore these ideas through reflection, The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, as well interviews with Andrew White and Héctor Pérez-Urbina. Chapters (00:00) - Intro (10:22) - Inequality in the digital economy (15:02) - Automation, AI and Work (17:04) - The Meaning of Work (20:24) - Relationships with Work (21:44) - Work Culture (23:25) - Work and Moral Value (26:10) - Work as Self-Realisation (28:03) - Value of Non-Paid Work (32:43) - Paid vs Non-Paid Work (38:44) - AI-Elites and UBI Discourse (42:29) - Outro

    46 min
  • 1 Episode

About

Work and Values in the Age of AI. This series explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way we think about Universal Basic Income (UBI), work, and inequality. As UBI is increasingly touted as a response to the economic impacts of automation and technological change, the podcast unpacks the narratives around UBI, shedding light on whose interests they serve and what they leave out. Bringing together economic analysis, critical perspectives on AI discourse, and philosophical reflections on the meaning of work, the series aims to help listeners engage more thoughtfully with UBI as a broader social and ethical question about how we organize work, value, and human life.

Information

  • Creator
    Joe Williams
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    1
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Kairos.fm
  • Show Website
    Reclaiming UBI