In an X post, he wrote, “On the subject of AI and jobs: Hypothetically, if all software development were to be automated – I want to emphasize that we are nowhere close to that goal – and all software engineers such as myself are out of work, it is not like human beings will have nothing to do.”
Vembu
highlighted the economic challenge and said, “How do people afford all the goods that pour out of automated factories that employ no workers?”
He suggested two possible solutions to this problem. First, prices of automated goods and services could drop significantly, possibly to zero. “Breathing air costs us zero, and we don’t complain about it!”
On the subject of AI and jobs: Hypothetically, if all software development were to be automated – I want to emphasize that we are _nowhere_ close to that goal – and all software engineers such as myself are out of work, it is not like human beings will have nothing to do.
The…— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) June 7, 2025
Second, the remaining human-centred professions may see a substantial increase in pay, which would ensure income circulation.
“The remaining things humans do may get paid well – as an example, taking care of children, home-cooked meals, nursing sick people, priests that minister to people, people who take care of soil health, water health, crop health and cattle health (we used to call them farmers), forest restoration specialists, local live performing musicians and so on may get paid much more and that circulates income widely enough for people to afford the goods pouring out of highly automated factories,” he added.
The Zoho founder highlighted that if robots and AI automated all production work, tasks such as childcare “would pay very well in terms of purchasing power of those now ultra-cheap or free goods.”
He emphasised that the issue was ultimately about economic distribution and political economy, not just technology. Vembu emphasised the need for governments to tackle tech monopolies and ensure fair pricing to achieve economic balance.
“One key part is for governments to crack down on monopolies, particularly tech monopolies. Only that will ensure that the prices of goods reflect the very low cost of production arising from AI and automation. There will be at least one country in the world that would get the political economy right,” he added.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Jun 9, 2025 1:00 PM IST
