Part 9/14:
While AI promises to make goods and services nearly limitless and costless, physical and energy constraints remain barriers. Scarcity, especially of energy and raw materials, will still influence how abundance unfolds. The global energy demand is expected to rise sharply, and sustainable breakthroughs are necessary to prevent ecological limits from throttling progress.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) serves as a crucial bridging tool—providing a safety net during the transition. Yet, funding such a system on a global scale (estimated at trillions annually) poses immense logistical challenges. Moreover, even if AI achieves superintelligence and assumes control, human governance, geopolitical tensions, and ethical questions will complicate the eradication of traditional currency.