Zoho founder rejects UBI as answer to AI job losses

A Dystopian Vision

Sridhar Vembu, founder of the Indian software company Zoho, has rejected the idea of universal basic income as a way to handle job losses caused by artificial intelligence. He called UBI an "unimaginative and dystopian" idea in a post on X on October 12, 2026.

Vembu argued that the UBI approach assumes all productive resources would end up in the hands of a few people, leaving governments to simply pay money to those who lost their jobs. He said this reflects a narrow view of human purpose focused only on intellectual work.

AI Takes On Hard Tasks

His comments came after Andrej Karpathy, a well-known AI expert and co-founder of Tesla's self-driving team, pointed out that the gap in AI abilities is growing wider. Vembu said AI is now powerful enough to solve pure mathematics, which was once thought to be the highest form of human intellectual activity.

"At this point, I would assume that most intellectual jobs are at risk," he wrote. "That includes much of software."

This sentiment echoed concerns raised by others in the tech world. Several AI researchers and industry leaders have warned that advanced AI models could replace large numbers of knowledge workers, including programmers, analysts, and other professionals who rely on reasoning and problem-solving.

Endless Human Work

Vembu, who lives in a rural village, said he does not worry about what humans will do once AI takes over intellectual jobs. He believes people have infinitely many meaningful tasks to fill their time.

He grouped these activities into four categories: nature, nurture, culture, and spiritual traditions. These include restoring soil and water, raising children, caring for elderly family members, making music, keeping festivals alive, playing sports, and studying spiritual practices.

"Humans have infinitely many things to do," he said. "Those activities can pay well."

He also argued that sovereign governments have the power to prevent the monopolization of production tools that his vision of UBI implies. Rather than handing out cash, he said societies should focus on creating new kinds of work and sharing the economic benefits of automation more broadly.

The debate over UBI has grown louder worldwide as AI systems become more capable. Some experts argue that guaranteed income is essential to protect people from job displacement. Others, like Vembu, say it undermines human dignity and ignores the many non-economic ways people can find purpose and earn a living.

Key facts

• Sridhar Vembu called UBI an "unimaginative and dystopian" vision
• He believes AI can now solve pure mathematics, putting intellectual jobs at risk
• Vembu says humans have endless work in nature, nurture, culture and spirituality
• He argues governments can prevent monopolization of production means
• His comments follow Andrej Karpathy's warning about widening AI capability gaps

Sources

1. Sridhar Vembu says AI job losses need new work, not universal basic income — indiatoday.in
2. Sridhar Vembu says AI job losses need new work, not universal basic income — indiatoday.in
3. Zoho's Sridhar Vembu On AI, Jobs, And Universal Basic Income - Rediff ... — rediff.com
4. No pay hikes this year: Zoho's Sridhar Vembu says 'I apologise' amid AI ... — firstpost.com
5. Sridhar Vembu: AI-Era UBI is Dystopian, Humans Have Purpose — money.rediff.com

This story was written before each paragraph carried a source number: every fact in it comes from one of the sources above.