cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/44996161
March 25, 2026
The policy, announced by Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democratic representative, on Wednesday morning, aims to ensure the AI boom protects the environment and communities, and benefits workers instead of harming them. A temporary ban, the lawmakers say, would give the US government time to create strong federal safeguards for AI, which is “affecting everything from our economy and wellbeing to our democracy, warfare and our kids’ education”.
“AI and robotics are creating the most sweeping technological revolution in the history of humanity,” Sanders said in an emailed statement. “The scale, scope, and speed of that change is unprecedented. Congress is way behind where it should be in understanding the nature of this revolution and its impacts.”
Every person that loses their job to AI is just another person with lots of free time on their hands and no means to support themselves and their family.
I truly do not know what their long term plan is, assuming they even have one (bold assumption, I know) but it seems to me that having huge masses of unemployed people with tons of motivation and nothing better to do is like, the last thing I would be pushing for if I was of the ownership class.
Especially with data centers…which need to be connected to the outside world with sufficient speed to be anything more than miles of copper and hot chunks of metal playing with itself. I bet a handful of guys with some shovels and a dremel could seriously fuck up the productivity of a data center pretty easy.
Within a few years, sooner than people think, the sub-5% unemployment rate will be a quaint memory. We will hit double digit unemployment rates, as you are predicting, and the number will only rise.
Whether the losses to society are made up with some sort of a “robot tax,” or UBI, or something else, will entirely depend on the party in charge, but under MAGA, those things won’t be happening.
Under MAGA, social safety nets will be transactional. If you need government assistance, you will be required to work for it, and you will be assigned to one of the work camps, where you will be leased out to corporations as a Federal 13th Amendment Worker, called 13s (a system that will lead to more unemployment).
Further, personal situations like debt, unemployment, homelessness, etc. will be illegal, and you will be sent to the work camps.
If you refuse to work, are insubordinate, cause trouble, try to foment Insurrection, etc. you will be sent to the brand new, state-of-the-art prison being built right now in Guantanamo Bay (haven’t heard of it? Google it), never to be heard of again.
Or, alternatively, you could always volunteer to fight in Middle East War.
This is for the good of the citizens. It is immoral to take money you haven’t worked for, and working in the government camps is no more than a supplement to your public school education, adopting a proper work ethic so you can contribute positively to society. That’s how regular citizens can preserve Freedom.
Work will make you Free: “Arbeit Macht Frei.” How inspirational. They should put that over the front gate.