Universal Basic Income in the Era of Automation and Shifting Global Power
Francisco Justiniano Velasco Arellanes
PDF (Español (España))
FLIP
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal is licensed by a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International. For the CC licenses, the principle isthe creative freedom. This system complements the copyright without opposing it, conscious of its importance in our culture. The content of the articles is the responsibility of each author, and does not compromise in any way, to the journal or the university. It allows the transmission and reproduction of titles, abstracts and full content, with academic, scientific, cultural ends, provided acknowledgment of the respective source. This work cannot be used for commercial purposes.
They journal does not charge authors for submission or publication.
Abstract
This article analyzes the viability of universal basic income (UBI) in the face of automation, artificial intelligence, corporate concentration, and current geopolitical tensions. Through a documentary review, the literature is examined across five dimensions: state sovereignty, global governance, redistributive policies, technological innovation, and power relations between states and corporations. The findings indicate that the sustainable implementation of UBI requires international institutional, fiscal, and regulatory transformations. It highlights the need to strengthen state regulatory capacity, adapt international law to transnational risks, and promote democratic global cooperation mechanisms. Likewise, financing alternatives are identified through taxes on automation, data, and wealth, along with multilevel governance models to reduce asymmetries between tech corporations and states. The review reveals a central ension: UBI can be understood as a guarantee of minimum income or as part of a project for the democratization of wealth and economic power. It is oncluded that its viability depends on an inclusive international governance framework that combines fiscal innovation, global cooperation, and equitable distribution of technological benefits.
References
Acemoglu, D. y Johnson, S. (2023). Power and progress: Our thousand-year struggle over technology and prosperity. PublicAffairs.
Banerjee, A., Niehaus, P. y Suri, T. (2019). Universal basic income in the developing world. Annual Review of Economics, 11(1), 959-983. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030229.
Bélisle-Pipon, J.-C. (2025). AI, universal basic income, and power: Symbolic violence in the tech elite’s narrative. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 8, 1488457. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2025.1488457.
Benanav, A. (2020). Automation and the future of work. Verso Books.
Bick, A., Blandin, A., y Deming, D. J. (2025). The rapid adoption of generative AI. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Working Paper 2024-027. https://doi.org/10.20955/wp.2024.027.
Bidadanure, J. U. (2019). The political theory of universal basic income. Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 481-501. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-070954.
Blinder, D. (2017). Orden mundial y tecnología. Análisis institucional desde la perspectiva geopolítica en la semiperiferia: la tecnología espacial y de misiles en Argentina y Brasil. Geopolítica(s) Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 8(2), 177-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/GEOP.53257.
Bobbio, N. (2025). Estado, gobierno y sociedad: por una teoría general de la política (Vol. 487). México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Chace, C. (2016). The economic singularity: Artificial intelligence and the death of capitalism. Three Cs Publishing.
Chace, C. (2018). Surviving AI: The promise and peril of artificial intelligence (2 ed.). Three Cs.
Chrisp J, Pulkka V-V y Rincón García L. (2020). Snowballing or wilting? What affects public support for varying models of basic income? Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy, 36(3): 223-236. https://doi.org/10.1017/ics.2020.28.
Croxton, D. (2013). Westphalia: The last Christian peace. Palgrave Macmillan.
D’Alessandro, S., Distefano, T., Morlin, G. S. y Villani, D. (2025). Exploring policy responses to labour-saving technologies: Basic income, job guarantee, and working time reduction. Journal of Policy Modeling, 47(1), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.xxxxj.jpolmod.2025.01.001.
De Wispelaere, J. y Stirton, L. (2004). The many faces of universal basic income. The Political Quarterly, 7 (3), 266-274.
Ford, M. (2015). Rise of the robots: Technology and the threat of a jobless future. Basic Books.
Ford, M. (2021). Rule of the robots: How artificial intelligence will transform everything. Basic Books.
Friedman, M., Friedman, R. D. y Gardner, G. (1962). Capitalism and freedom (vol. 133). University of Chicago press.
Galbraith, J. K. (1984). La anatomía del poder. Plaza & Janés.
Ghatak, M. y Maniquet, F. (2019). Universal basic income: Some theoretical aspects. Annual Review of Economics, 11(1), 895-928. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-080218-030220.
Grimalda, G., Filgueira, F., Fleurbaey, M., Lo Vuolo, R. y Reggiani, T. (2022). Building a global safety net through a global citizen income and progressive global taxation. Policy Brief. Global Solutions Journal.
Herrera Santana, D. (2019). Geopolítica de la fragmentación y poder infraestructural. El Proyecto One Belt, One Road y América Latina. Geopolítica(s) Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 10(1) 2019:41-68. https://doi.org/10.5209/GEOP.58761.
Huang, J. (2024). From universal basic income to universal basic assets: New social development policies in the age of AI. Journal of Policy Practice & Research, 5(2), 146-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-024-00114-y.
Ishkhanyan, A. (2025). The sovereignty-internationalism paradox in AI governance: digital federalism and global algorithmic control. Discover Artificial Intelligence, 5(1), 123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44163-025-00374-x.
Jiménez, C. J. (2024). La espacialidad del capitalismo global: tendencias recientes y caminos para su transformación. Una aproximación desde la experiencia colombiana en el siglo XXI. Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 15(2), 411-438. https://doi.org/10.5209/geop.93702.
Kangas, O., Jauhiainen, S., Simanainen, M. y Ylikännö, M. (2020). Suomen perustulokokeilun arviointi. Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-00-9890-2.
Kılıç, A. (2024). Universal Basic Income as a Response to Automation? Attitudes of Human Translators Facing Neural Machine Translation. Critical Sociology, 51(6), 1225-1240. https://doi.
org/10.1177/08969205241279262.
Korinek, A. y Suh, D. (2024). Scenarios for the transition to AGI. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2403.12107.
Lane, J. N., Zhang, M. y Lakhani, K. R. (2025, febrero). AI in 2025: Promise and Limitations. Harvard Business School research explores the evolving role of artificial intelligence in creativity, productivity, and decision-making. Harvard Business School, Working Knowledge. https://es.scribd.com/document/846079316/AI-in-2025-A-Guide-by-HBS-Working-Knowledge.
Langridge, N. (2024). Unconditional basic income and a degrowth transition: Adding empirical rigour to radical visions. Futures, 159, 103375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2024.103375.
Lykov, A., Altamirano Cabrera, M., Konenkov, M., Serpiva, V., Gbagbe, K. F., Alabbas, A., Fedoseev, A., Moreno, L., Khan, M. H., Guo, Z. y Tsetserukou, D. (2024). Industry 6.0: New generation of industry driven by generative AI and swarm of heterogeneous robots [Preprint]. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.10106.
Marshall, T. H. y Bottomore, T. (1992). Citizenship and Social Class. Pluto Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt18mvns1.
Merola, R. (2022). Inclusive growth in the era of automation and AI: How can taxation help? Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 5, 867832. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2022.867832.
Pareto, V. (1971). Manual of Political Economy (translated by Ann S. Schwier and Alfred S. Schwier). Augustus M. Kelley.
Pastor, J. (2020). El (im) posible retorno del Estado al primer plano ante una catástrofe global. Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 11(Especial), 165-172. https://doi.org/10.5209/geop.69300.
Piketty, T. (2020). Capital and ideology. Harvard University Press.
Piketty, T. (2021). Capital and ideology: A global perspective on inequality regimes. British Journal of Sociology, 72(1), 139. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12836.
Roberts, H., Hine, E., Taddeo, M. y Floridi, L. (2024). Global AI governance: Barriers and pathways forward. International Affairs, 100(3), 1275-1286.
Rousseau, J.-J. (1762). Du contrat social, ou principes du droit politique. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/46333/pg46333-images.html.
Saxe-Fernández, J. (2023). De las guerras por encargo a la guerra global. Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 14(2), 169-193. https://doi.org/10.5209/geop.92614.
Sen, A. (2010). La idea de la justicia. Taurus.
Standing, G. (2017). Basic income: And how we can make it happen. Pelican Books.
The Select Committee on the CCP (2024). The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. How American financial institutions provide billions of dollars to PRC companies committing human rights abuses and fueling the PRC’s military [Informe]. https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/press-releases/committee-report-american-financial-institutions-funneled-billions-prc.
Thompson, M. (2022). Money for everything? Universal basic income in a crisis. Economy and Society, 51(3), 353-374. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2022.2035930.
Valencia, A. R. y Ruvalcaba, D. M. (2018). El poder nacional-internacional de los Estados. Una propuesta trans-estructural. Revista de estudios sobre espacio y poder, 9(1), 137-169. https://doi.org/10.5209/GEOP.57778.
Van Parijs, P. y Vanderborght, Y. (2017). Basic income: A radical proposal for a free society and a sane economy. In Basic income. Harvard University Press.
Velasco. F. (2025). Insuficiencia del derecho internacional público ante amenazas globales existenciales. Novum Jus, 3(19). https://doi.org/10.14718/NovumJus.2025.19.3.1.
Vivalt, E., Rhodes, E., Bartik, A. W., Broockman, D. E., Krause, P. y Miller, S. (2024). The employment effects of a guaranteed income: Experimental evidence from two US states (n.° w32719). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Weber, M. (2004). The vocation lectures: Science as a vocation/Politics as a vocation (trans. R. Livingstone; D. Owen & T. Strong, Eds.). Hackett.
West, S., Baker, A. C., Samra, S. y Coltrera, E. (2021). Preliminary Analysis: SEED’s First Year. Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED). https://static1.squarespace. com/static/6039d612b17d055cac14070f/t/6050294a1212aa40fdaf773a/1615866187890/SEED_
Preliminary+Analysis-SEEDs+First+Year_Final+Report_Individual+Pages+.pdf.
