Democrats Are Proposing a 'Robot Tax' To Save Jobs From AI. Here's Why It Won't Work.

There's a reason you've never heard of a Model T tax. No one proposed a levy on the cotton gin or a fine for using computers. America's prosperity came from embracing innovation, not taxing it. Now some politicians want to reverse that formula by putting a price on progress itself.

Senate Democrats have published a new report called "The Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers: AI and Automation Could Destroy Nearly 100 Million U.S Jobs in a Decade." It presents a dire forecast of significant job displacement due to artificial intelligence (AI) and proposes an extreme response—the imposition of a "robot tax" to fine companies that integrate AI to "expand automation." According to the report, the government would use the revenue from this tax "to benefit workers harmed by AI."

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