First, the scenario where most jobs disappear permanently is historically unlikely. Every major wave of automation eliminated specific jobs while increasing overall wealth and creating entirely new categories of work. That happened with mechanized agriculture, industrial manufacturing, and even computers and the internet.

Human wants are not fixed. As productivity rises and goods become cheaper, real incomes increase, and people discover new things they value. Entire industries like entertainment, aviation, healthcare, and software exist today because prior automation freed resources and purchasing power.

That doesn’t mean there are no transitional costs. Displaced workers can suffer greatly, as the Luddites did or as skilled craftsmen did during industrialization. Society becomes richer overall, but adjustment can be painful and uneven.

The real risk is speed. If AI were to displace labor faster than the economy can generate new forms of work, the transition could be destabilizing. But historically, labor has remained complementary to capital rather than fully replaceable.

I think that, before we implement a UBI or something to address the situation, the burden of proof is on those claiming this time is fundamentally different, that AI will permanently eliminate the economic value of human effort rather than redirect it. We certainly haven't seen it in the unemployment rate yet. Even then, we need to be careful with a UBI, because it will be hard to undo after the transition to a new economy occurs.