Sam Altman: belief

Transcript context

…Let’s say we institute a universal basic income. Since it seems from the data that citizens often hate the idea of immigrants just getting money for free and forever, isn’t there a risk that a UBI would lead to a choking off of immigration in this and other countries, and that we would not, on net, end up helping humanity? The argument against a universal basic income that I am most sympathetic to is that it is a good reason to lower immigration, and I think increasing immigration — particularly high-skill immigration — into the US is one of the most important policy things we can do. I agree that is a negative, but I think the positives of UBI are so high that I would take the trade, although I’d work as hard as I can, at a minimum, to increase the level of high-skill immigration. If you believe talent is equally distributed around the world, which I certainly do, 5 percent of the founders we want are in the US. Speaking in our own self-interest as the US here — not as what’s best for the globe for a minute — I’d like all the other 95 percent here. Potential founders in other countries — I agree that talent is equally distributed around the world, but cultural background is not.…

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