Yes, we live in the age of AI.

And yes—it is the biggest disruptor the world has ever seen.

For someone like me, an “unknown author,” it’s been a gift. A productivity booster like no other. Research, brainstorming, editing—AI is like having ten assistants working 24/7.

But let’s not kid ourselves.

AI isn’t just here to help. It’s replacing. It’s already taken jobs. Writers. Designers. Coders. Customer support. Legal. Finance. HR.

Gone. Or going. And it’s getting faster. Smarter.

Which brings up the big one—the scary what-if.

What if AI takes over all jobs?

Not 5%.

Not 50%.

But all of them.

Yes—what if… it does?

That thought hit me hard after watching a podcast from Diary of a CEO featuring Dr. Roman Yampolskiy: 

Now, to be clear—the video is a bit alarmist.

And I’m not a computer scientist.

I’m not even smart enough to unpack half the concepts in that talk.

But what I am—

Is a storyteller.

So when someone says, “AI could become smarter than every human alive…”

My story brain goes into overdrive.

And the question won’t leave me:

What happens to us when we’re no longer needed?

Unreast at a Global Scale

Imagine it’s 2045. Or pick any year you like. AI now runs everything. Every industry. Every field. Every system.

Doctors? AI.

Engineers? AI.

Pilots? AI.

Teachers? AI.

CEOs? AI.

What about the rest of us? The answer?

Nothing.

We’re jobless. Billions of people. No purpose. No paycheck. No path forward.

That’s not science fiction. That’s societal collapse.

Because when people lose their income, they lose more than money.

They lose dignity.

They lose routine.

They lose identity.

And when that happens—history shows us what follows. Protests. Looting. Riots. Violence. Governments are collapsing under the weight of the angry, hungry, and ignored.

And this time?

It’ll be global.

Not just one region or one revolution. It’ll be everywhere. Simultaneously.

Because the jobless won’t just be the poor. It’ll be everyone. White-collar. Blue-collar. No-collar. All of us. Together. With othing to do.

Scary?

That’s just the beginning.

Rise of Universal Basic Income

The Rise of Universal Basic Income

Enter the next “solution.”

Universal Basic Income. UBI.

It’s already being tested in some countries. It’s the idea that everyone—job or no job—gets a fixed amount of money from the government every month.

Sounds good, right?

In a world where AI takes the jobs, UBI would be the lifeline. The buffer. The safety net. You could still eat. Pay rent. Maybe even travel a bit.

But now ask this:

What if that’s the only money you have?

And the only people controlling it—are the people who control the AI?

Think about that for a second.

No job means no alternative income. No alternative income means total dependency. Total dependency means total control.

People will be controlled like never before

Imagine this:

You speak out.

You protest the system.

You break some arbitrary “terms of service” for being a citizen.

And suddenly, your UBI doesn’t arrive that month. Or next month. Or ever again. Not because you broke a law. But because you stepped out of line. That’s not paranoia. That’s programmable currency. It’s already being tested in digital pilot programs.

AI gives them the tools.

UBI gives them the leverage.

You want food? Obey.

You want rent money? Obey.

You want to exist? Obey.

And we’d call it “just the way it is.”

Because what choice would we have?

Other Outcomes?

Could it go better?

Maybe.

In an ideal world, AI frees us from labor. We don’t need to work. We’re given time to paint, read, travel, create, raise families, explore space.

It becomes a utopia of abundance. But humans don’t have the best track record with power. We don’t always share. We don’t always play fair. And those who build the AI? Own the AI? Control the AI?

They will have unimaginable leverage over the rest of us. Unless systems are built with transparency, accountability, and ethics—

We’re passengers.

Not pilots.

Back to the Fiction

Now, maybe you think this is all too dark. Maybe you think AI will help, not harm. Maybe you think the world will adapt.

I hope you’re right.

But as a fiction writer, I follow patterns.

And when I see a pattern this big, this fast, this unchecked? It’s not a what-if anymore. It’s a plot line worth watching. Because once AI takes over all jobs—

We stop being necessary.

And once we’re no longer necessary?

That’s the start of a very different story.

A story we might all be living.

Soon.

Stay sharp. Stay human.