Speculative essay on how full automation and AI could collapse profit from routine work, force capitalism to eat itself, and push us toward an open‑source, contribution‑based economy.
We often complain today that jobs are undervalued, poorly paid, and replaced by AI. But this pessimistic view misses a crucial and paradoxically positive element: the robotization and automation of economic tasks actually represent a major step towards pure and perfect competition.
The Impossibility of Getting Rich Through Automatable Work
It's becoming increasingly impossible to get rich by performing a task that can be completely done by a robot. But that's great news! This evolution means that the prices of goods and services associated with these tasks will converge towards their marginal cost of production, which is very close to zero. We're heading towards a situation of abundance for everyone and a huge increase in purchasing power.
Real Added Value Reveals Itself
This transformation also means that finally, the economic "reward" of high compensation will be able to concentrate on tasks with real added value. And we'll discover that they are extremely few! Only the greatest scientists and a few specific activities will be able to claim to earn a little more than zero, based on the measurable added value of their input.
The Return of Epicurus
We will finally realize that everything we value today, as Epicurus would have thought, actually has no value. This philosophical revelation through technology could even lead to a strong reduction in consumption, once it loses its status as a social symbol — which would be extremely positive for the planet and, ultimately, for our survival as a species.
The Terminal Chaos Before the Transition
The current period—where many can get rich doing almost anything in generalized chaos—looks like the terminal stage of a dying system, the last convulsion before collapse and a transition to a healthier model, whether you call it pure and perfect competition or something closer to Marxism.
Who Owns the Robots? A Non‑Issue
“Doomers” worry about who will own the robots and wield absolute power. Paradoxically, this fear is unfounded. If no one works or earns money because robots produce everything in abundance, everyone necessarily benefits from robot output without paying. Otherwise, everyone loses—and owning robots to enslave the world makes no sense when there’s no one left to enslave.
Capitalism’s Self‑Destruction by Its Own Logic
De facto, ownership of the means of production loses meaning when production has no price. Capitalism, pushed to its logical limit by total automation, scuttles itself. The dynamic echoes Marx’s “tendency of the rate of profit to fall,” but accelerated and terminal.
The Voluntary Contribution Model
People will still choose, as today, between consuming now or deferring gratification to invest in a goal. Practically, that means putting one’s personal robot (or compute) in service of a common project that benefits the community. It preserves identity, if that remains necessary. The model looks a lot like open source today: voluntary contributors, collective free production, a “gift economy.”
The Tipping Point Is Closer Than We Think
A high enough unemployment rate could trigger the shift. We won’t wait for 50, 70, then 90% unemployment before acting—revolutions happen with far less. In practice, power is already ultra‑concentrated among the wealthy. Big Tech and a handful of funds control a disproportionate share of the global economy.
The Crowd‑Out Effect in Non‑Automated Sectors
In non‑automated sectors we’ll see the opposite: too many workers and falling wages. If AI replaces lawyers, accountants, designers, those people will flood into “non‑automatable” jobs. Result: wage collapse via simple supply‑and‑demand.
AI and Education: Our Only Real Chance
We can do better than resigning ourselves to exploiting people. Saying “since people are ignorant, let’s profit from it” lacks empathy. Our responsibility is to do better—and AI is our best chance through education.
Imagine an infinitely patient AI tutor, available 24/7, explaining complex economics with analogies tailored to each person. If AI can truly raise collective understanding, the post‑economic transition can be more conscious and less chaotic.
Conclusion: An Ethical Responsibility
This isn’t futurism—it’s already unfolding. We may be closer to the tipping point than expected. The question is whether the transition happens via chaotic collapse then reconstruction, or by anticipating it intelligently. Our responsibility is the latter: use AI not to manipulate, but to uplift.
