NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / — On Tuesday, former 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and Forward Party co-founder Andrew Yang reiterated his call for direct taxes on artificial intelligence during an interview on CNBC’s Power Lunch. Yang contended that current federal tax policies inadvertently create artificial market signals prompting corporations to replace human employees with automated digital systems. Addressing viewers nationwide, he warned that the existing system subsidizes a technology capable of displacing millions by imposing high payroll taxes on human labor while providing tax benefits to firms utilizing algorithmic automation.
During the discussion, Yang highlighted that current tax laws require employers to pay substantial payroll taxes and employee healthcare expenses when hiring human workers. In contrast, companies implementing artificial intelligence solutions face no comparable labor taxes, which effectively reduces operational costs for automated alternatives. Noble Mobile’s CEO pointed out that the legal environment implicitly incentivizes corporate leadership to accelerate automation across key economic sectors.
Andrew Yang Declares We Are Funding a Technology That Will Displace Millions
Yang recommended a strategic shift in policy that would reallocate fiscal responsibilities from traditional payroll taxes toward automated compute tokens and artificial intelligence-based revenue models. Citing recent remarks from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who proposed a 3 percent revenue tax on generative AI deployments, Yang argued that taxing interactions with automated software offers a practical approach to correcting market distortions. He emphasized that revenue collected from such an artificial intelligence tax should be redistributed directly to citizens as universal cash dividends, instead of funding retraining programs of the past.
This policy discussion unfolds amid rising economic concerns over workplace automation in the U.S. A recent joint survey by CNBC and Generation Lab found that 45 percent of young Americans aged 18 to 34 believe artificial intelligence will harm their long-term career prospects. Additionally, macroeconomic analysis from Bridgewater Associates executives estimates that automation could threaten approximately 18 percent of total U.S. jobs over the next five years.
Customer Service Workers Face Swift Industry Changes Due to Automation
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that customer service departments currently employ about 2.9 million people, making it one of the first sectors experiencing rapid automation shifts. Yang warned that government-backed workforce retraining efforts have historically fallen short in helping displaced workers transition into sustainable new careers. He pointed to past retraining programs for coal miners and warehouse employees as evidence that direct financial support provides more stability than federally managed job transition schemes.
Yang concluded that legislative reforms are essential to ensure human workers remain competitive alongside advancing software agents. Given that current tax policies subsidize a technology poised to displace millions, he stressed the importance of establishing neutral tax policies to effectively navigate the ongoing digital transformation within the U.S. labor market. Legislative proposals aimed at addressing workplace automation disruptions are currently under review for upcoming congressional sessions.