They say AI will kill capitalism.
That’s one of the bold claims Emad Mostaque explores in The Last Economy. He isn’t the first—Tom Bilyeu and other tech thinkers are banging their drums about the perils of a future where socialism or universal basic income (UBI) becomes the default safety net.
Why? Because AI never takes a sick day. It doesn’t need a break to take grandma to the doctor. It doesn’t go through a divorce. It runs 24/7. Faced with a choice between drama-filled humans and endless capacity of digital workers, companies will inevitably favor the easier “employee.” So what happens to us?
Mostaque, a mathematician by training, states it plainly:
If the government gave every American $16,000 a year—the U.S. poverty level—it would cost $5 trillion annually.
The entire U.S. tax base? About $5 trillion.
Something has to give.
Enter: Universal Basic Contribution
I’m coining the term. (c) Tate Ringer 2025
This isn’t UBI. It’s not socialism. It’s paying people to contribute to the common good—and giving everyone a reason to keep showing up for each other.
Imagine working reasonable hours (like much of the developed world already does) to:
- mentor and teach kids
- care for the elderly who have no family
- beautiful our environment and source local, pesticide-free foods
Meanwhile, the companies with all the compute power will still want people to use their products. They’ll need a population with both time and spending power—and this model gives us both.
Why it matters
History warns us about what happens when abundance strips life of purpose.
John Calhoun’s famous Universe 25 experiment created a mouse utopia: no predators, unlimited food, perfect nesting. At first the colony flourished. Then came the behavioral sink—aggression spiked, mothers abandoned their young, birth rates collapsed, and the population went extinct.
You can see echoes of this in human history too: think of once-mighty dynasties like the Vanderbilts or the Astors, whose fortunes evaporated as purpose and discipline faded.
A white paper is coming later this year. For now, I believe Universal Basic Contribution is not just an economic model—it’s a social imperative.
In a world of cyber-isolation and tireless AI, it could be the glue that keeps our social fabric from unraveling.
(Copyright 2025 Tate Ringer)
Update November 2025: revising Universal Basic Contribution to The Contribution Economy [(c) Tate Ringer, 2025] which has Contributionism as its framework. Revised and improved from UBC.