Unscarcity Notes

Labor Cliff

Labor Cliff The Labor Cliff describes a rapid, technology-driven collapse in demand for human labor as AGI and humanoid robots reach cost parity across sectors. Unlike cyclical recessions, this cliff...

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Labor Cliff

The Labor Cliff describes a rapid, technology-driven collapse in demand for human labor as AGI and humanoid robots reach cost parity across sectors. Unlike cyclical recessions, this cliff is structural: once automation outperforms humans, displaced workers cannot simply retrain into new niches fast enough.

The concept justifies urgency for the EXIT Protocol and Foundation rollout. Waiting for market adjustments risks mass unemployment, political destabilization, and reactionary movements. By guaranteeing Baseline needs and offering Frontier purpose, Unscarcity aims to convert the cliff into a launchpad for new forms of contribution.

Economic literature on job polarization, skill-biased technical change, and previous automation waves inform the model, but the projected speed and scope here are unprecedented.

References

  • UnscarcityBook, chapter1 and chapter6
  • OECD, “Automation and the Future of Work” (2019)
  • Carl Benedikt Frey & Michael Osborne, “The Future of Employment” (2013)
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