The hype tells us that automated cars will make taxi drivers an anachronism, that the job of a ‘fast food server’ will soon be extinct, and that 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the USA will find themselves redundant. Yet, these grandiose claims face a stark reality: the computational power required to manage these tasks does not yet exist. The AI models necessary to handle edge cases—imagine automated driving in countries with more organic driving styles, such as India—are far from ready.

Enter Amazon Go. Amazon has previewed a technology that aims to replace grocery store workers. This new vision foresees supermarkets and hypermarkets staffed by only a few shelf stackers, a cleaner, and a loss prevention officer. No cashiers. No additional staff. Until, of course, machines replace even these roles.

However, there’s a counterargument: such a system is only viable if it proves cheaper than the labour it replaces. If staff costs are significantly lower, an AI-powered grocery store must generate revenues several magnitudes greater to justify its expense.

Another perspective suggests that Amazon’s latest endeavour might be nothing more than a mechanical Turk. Like many ambitious Amazon projects before it, it may ultimately be scrapped. Yet, with every AI advancement, the argument for universal income strengthens. Recall the industry joke: AI stands for “Actually India”—implying that it’s all a façade concealing remote workers. Perhaps, in this context, the term “Mechanical Indians” fits more aptly.

As we stand on the cusp of these technological transformations, one thing remains certain: the discourse surrounding universal income becomes ever more pertinent.