A case for a robot tax in the age of AI

May 14, 2024

Editor’s note: Our Reimagine Rural podcast is back for its second season! You can listen to new episodes here or on your preferred podcast app.

“As the capabilities of AI continue to advance, the time is approaching to define the appropriate relationship between humans and AI/robots—a critical step towards harmonizing our coexistence.”

Michael J. Ahn makes the case for a tax on companies that deploy AI and robotics capable of autonomous decision-making. This policy could provide economic support for displaced workers as well as an incentive for strategic decision-making about automation, he says.

More research and commentary

Poverty in the United States. The Brookings Center for Economic Security and Opportunity recently convened a briefing to highlight the findings of a congressionally mandated report on reducing intergenerational poverty. Simon Hodson highlights key points from the event.

Tracking U.S. infrastructure funding. In advance of this year’s Infrastructure Week, Brookings Metro launched a major update to its Federal Infrastructure Hub, an interactive resource to help practitioners, policymakers, and journalists track the state and local opportunities made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Hear about leading transportation projects funded by the IIJA at an event on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. ET.

About Brookings

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Our mission is to conduct in-depth, nonpartisan research to improve policy and governance at local, national, and global levels. If you were forwarded this email, sign up for the Brookings Brief to stay updated on our latest work.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.