The Day AI Won at Maths. Welcome to Capitalism Without Workers?

The Day AI Won at Maths. Welcome to Capitalism Without Workers?

Imagine waking up one fine morning to discover we're suddenly obsolete—not just at your tedious office gig, but also when solving life's most brain-bending puzzles. Think I'm exaggerating? Well, my friend… Both OpenAI and Google models just bagged the gold medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad. That's right, the AI just schooled the smartest maths geeks on Earth. And let's face it, Maths isn't just numbers and nerdy trophies; it's the bedrock of science, technology, and pretty much every damn thing that makes our modern world tick and, according to the most prominent physicists, it's what makes our known Universe tick. So, if AI just conquered Mathematics, what's left for us mere mortals?

We can bury our head in the sand as much as we may like, but we’re way past simple automation or cutting down paperwork. What we're facing is a total overhaul economically, socially, and culturally. This isn't some far-off dystopia any longer; the reality is already knocking down doors, rewriting our definitions of work, wealth, and stability. Forget debating if this post-labour economy is coming: it's around the next corner. The question we should be losing sleep over is how we're going to handle it, or even if we are remotely preparing our society for it.

Some experts are already ringing alarm bells, warning that this transformation will be the most radical in human history. Advanced AI and autonomous robotics aren't just boosting productivity; they're already sending human jobs straight into retirement. According to them, work will be shrinking into niches so specialized and scarce that most of us won't make the cut.

Now, let’s get real. Our whole economies rely on taxing human labour. Our painful, but necessary, periodic virtual visit to the tax agency. But what happens when the job market evaporates? How will governments bankroll essentials like education, healthcare, and pensions if the tax base dries up faster than our enthusiasm for Zoom calls on a Monday morning?

And the crisis doesn’t stop at economics: it's hitting us right in our identity feels. For centuries, for most of us, our jobs defined who we are, what we're worth, and where we fit into society. In fact, many of our surnames, no matter the language, come from the occupation of some distant family members. What's going to hold us together if work disappears? Can we find a new sense of purpose, or will our communities unravel faster than a fake pair of fancy sneakers playing footy on dirt grounds?

We need bold, disruptive solutions, not lukewarm policies. Sure, there's some talk of Universal Basic Income (UBI), but let's be honest: that comes loaded with its own set of bureaucratic nightmares and political shrieking. More visionary proposals, like Universal Basic Capital -a citizen’s nest egg, invested at birth to generate lifelong passive income - might radically reshape our ideas of wealth and ownership.

Or, imagine collective asset ownership, where everyone gets a stake in automated local and global enterprises, spreading wealth more evenly and building stronger communities. But making this happen means completely rethinking education and social mindsets. And what's more improbable, the acceptance of those who own the vast majority of wealth while the rest of us struggle to keep paying our bills… Who knows? We may need less obedient employees and more savvy managers of future wealth as active participants in a decentralized, automated economy.

Ignoring this shift isn't just reckless, it's straight-up dangerous... But it is happening. If we sit idle, just expect a societal meltdown fuelled by spiralling inequality and community breakdown. Not my opinion, it's History's… Only this time, the struggle would be of biblical proportions. A future of plenty may await, but without strategic redistribution, that abundance could pile up into fewer and fewer pockets (rings any bells?), lighting a fuse on social tensions that'll likely blow sky-high.

Post-labour economy isn't just robots and AI takeovers, or this and that guy getting even richer (if that is even possible). It's our chance to reinvent how we live and work together. The clock is ticking, and the choice is clear: Adapt now or brace yourself for the seismic wave that's already heading our way. But, are we really doing enough at all levels?

P.S. And for those who still think that Humanities will save us all… My advice is simple: get into AI music and see for yourself. I keep recalling those not-so-proverbial words from I, Robot when detective Spooner asks ‘Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot take a blank canvas and turn it into a masterpiece?’ Sony, quite wisely, replied with a rhetorical ‘Can you?’. Probably now he/it would have added ‘…cos I actually can!’

For more information:

DeepMind and OpenAI claim gold in International Mathematical Olympiad

Post-Labor Economics: A Systematic Review