Why This AI Writer Says We Should Give AI Ownership of Everything
What happens to regular people when machines outsmart us?
An essayist is making people talk with a strange idea: before artificial superintelligence (an AI smarter than all humans combined) arrives, we should take all the money and power away from individuals and give it to the state, then hand that state to the AI itself. His hope is that this super-AI would treat everyone fairly, like a zookeeper feeding gorillas, instead of letting a few rich humans own everything forever.
Why does he want this? He's scared that whoever builds the first superintelligent machine will get to control the entire future — planets, resources, politics — and everyone else will just be along for the ride. So he argues for an "equal distribution constitution": the AI is told to give everyone a decent, equal-ish life, even if that means using markets or not.
He admits this sounds like socialism, which has a bad history. But he insists this time is different: even if a super-AI runs things only 1% as efficiently as a capitalist free-for-all, it would still produce more than enough for everyone to live well. The real question, he says, is not efficiency — it's who gets to be in charge when machines become gods.
This is not a practical policy proposal. It's a thought experiment meant to make you think about who wins and who loses as AI gets more powerful. His worry is simple: if we don't plan for the endgame now, a handful of billionaires will make the rules for everyone.
- The author fears a super-smart AI will let the ultra-rich control everything if we don't change course.
- He suggests giving the AI all ownership of resources, with a rule to treat everyone equally.
- He compares humans to gorillas in a zoo, where the AI becomes a fair zookeeper.
- He admits the idea is half-baked but says the current path is riskier.
Why It Matters
This shapes the debate on who should benefit from advanced AI — everyone or just the ultra-wealthy.