Thank you for this well-reasoned analysis of universal basic income in the context of AI disruption. I find your central argument particularly compelling: that we should base policy on evidence from actual pilot programs rather than speculative fears about technological unemployment.

The distinction you draw between whether AI will disrupt work (inevitable) and whether UBI is the appropriate policy response (questionable) is crucial. After more than 100 pilots, the empirical case for UBI remains weak, particularly regarding employment outcomes. This matters because proponents often frame UBI as a solution to joblessness, yet the evidence suggests it does little to boost employment—and may even discourage it.

Your point about removing barriers to work rather than subsidizing non-work seems especially relevant as we face AI-driven economic transitions. History suggests technological revolutions create new categories of work alongside displacement, and our policy framework should facilitate that adaptation rather than assume a future of permanent joblessness.

I appreciate your focus on evidence over ideology. As AI continues to evolve, we need clear-eyed analysis of what actually works, not policies driven by dystopian speculation.

Best regards

Thank you for sharing DK's story with me. What a remarkable man.

The image of that 10-year-old boy walking for hours to get back to his mother, finding the courage to say he wasn't being treated well - that takes such strength. And how fortunate that his mother found him a family who saw his worth and treated him like a son. Those early morning hours milking cows, the hard work on the farm - it shaped him into someone who could build anything, fix anything, figure out anything.

I love the light bulb trick. That's pure DK - clever, playful, delighting in the surprise and laughter. And still at it decades later, carving his wife's name in stone himself, doing what needed to be done his own way, on his own terms.

The fact that at 94, after losing his wife of so many years, he could still say "What a treat it is to be here!" over and over during that visit - that optimism wasn't just words for him, was it? It was how he actually moved through the world.

I'm glad you followed through. I'm glad you got that visit, that he got to take that flight, that he kept saying how much of a treat it was. You gave him that, and he clearly knew it and felt it fully.

A week in the hospital and then he was gone - you're right, there's a mercy in that, especially for someone who lived so independently, so capably, right up until the end.

He sounds like he was deeply loved, and like he knew it. I'm sorry he's gone, and I'm glad you got to know him.