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The UN’s Technology and innovation report 2025 predicts that a new wave of technological transformation like AI will radically reshape the economy and society. The report warns there is a risk that AI will replace millions of workers while not creating enough new jobs, thus potentially widening job polarization and increasing income inequality. Similarly, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, warns that a rapid technological transition will start outright replacing human jobs as early as 2027, threatening democratic stability due to widening social disparities.
At the forefront of this transformation is Generative AI, a particularly powerful branch of artificial intelligence. Even more mind boggling part of this technology is the fact that it learns from patterns and gets better over time. It can often do things better and cheaper than humans because it is so fast and accurate. As a result, the world is moving toward a future where machines handle most of the work currently done by people. Experts refer to this shift as the beginning of a "post-labor economy.”
In this new era, most human labor is no longer needed to keep the economy running. For the first time in history, machines will be able to take care of production, services, and logistics without requiring human supervision. Furthermore, Agentic AI” have some level of agency with the ability to make decisions, take actions, and operate autonomously toward goals, rather than just following fixed instructions from humans or reacting passively.
This is a radical departure from the foundation on which human society has long been built. For centuries, work has not only provided income but also structure, identity, and purpose. Work has always been the center of society providing income, structure, and a sense of purpose for human beings. In the past, people farmed, built, repaired, or worked in factories. Even our political and social systems were based around labor. For example, Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto emerged from this era, rooted in the belief that labor defined human existence and power structures. Work still influences one’s access to housing, healthcare, and even how others see them. The higher one rises within the job hierarchy, the more dignity and recognition one tends to receive in society. For decades, working a 9-to-5 job signified that you were productive, responsible, and contributing to society.
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In a post-labor economy, having a job could become a choice instead of a necessity. Yet even as automation reduces the need for human labor, people will still require a basic level of financial security. The best solution yet is UBI which means the government would give every citizen a set amount of money each month with no strings attached. The idea of UBI has been championed by a wide range of thinkers, past and present. Historical figures like civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and economist Milton Friedman endorsed early versions of the concept, viewing it as a way to promote economic justice and reduce poverty. In more recent years, contemporary advocates such as author RutgerBregman, politician Andrew Yang, and entrepreneur Elon Musk have renewed interest in UBI, particularly in light of rapid advances in automation and artificial intelligence.
The source of Universal Basic Income (UBI) could come by heavily taxing companies that use AI and robots. These companies save substantial amounts by replacing human labor with machines that can operate around the clock. Therefore, the revenue generated from these taxes could be used to fund social programs or be distributed directly to citizens. Ownership also plays a critical role. If individuals or communities hold shares in AI-driven enterprises, they can share in the profits even without working for those companies. Meanwhile, a new frontier of debate is emerging, as some activists have already begun advocating for the rights of robots that includes providing citizenships as well.
These technological and social changes are not happening in isolation. They will ripple through every part of society. Today, healthcare and housing are often tied to employment. That system will not work in a world where many people no longer have jobs. Therefore, governments will need to make sure that basic services are available to everyone, not just those who work full-time. Furthermore, education will also have to evolve. Instead of preparing students for jobs that will soon disappear, schools should focus on teaching creativity, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and lifelong learning to help people adapt in a changing world.
However, this transition won’t be easy. For many, work is more than a source of income. It’s a source of pride, identity, and purpose. The loss of traditional jobs could leave people feeling adrift, uncertain about their role in society. To address this challenge, the government will need strong mental health support, robust community-building initiatives, and create new opportunities for meaningful engagement that go beyond economic productivity.
Some critics worry that without the need to work, people will become lazy or stop contributing to society. But early UBI experiments show that most people still want to be useful. They start small businesses, care for others, or return to school. Human beings naturally seek meaning, even when survival is not at risk. The best way to prepare for this future is through careful experimentation and gradual implementation. The government needs to engage in thoughtful planning to ensure the transition is smooth rather than sudden or chaotic, especially since even a visionary like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who once headed the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has said that universal basic income is inevitable.
A world without jobs might sound strange, but it unescapable. Machines are already changing the way we live and work. The real question is not whether jobs will disappear, but what kind of society we will build when they do. Will we allow this change to make the rich richer while others struggle? Or will we use it as a chance to create a fairer, more creative, and more humane world? This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine what it means to live well. Sadly, Nepal seems unaware and unprepared for this future.
What Nepal needs now is not just changes, but new ideas. Young political leaders, bureaucrats, teachers, and people who care must think about life without traditional jobs. We need to ask: What makes life meaningful when people don’t have to work to survive? How can we change our economy, schools, and communities to support creativity, kindness, and working together? These are not just ideas for the future. They are questions Nepal must start answering immediately.
Nepal’s parliamentary debates still sound as if they’re echoing from a different century while the world barrels toward a post-labor economy. The same old faces shout over power-sharing deals, reshuffle ministers like children, and endlessly squabble over federal boundaries. It’s as if the entire political machinery is blind to the seismic shifts just beyond the valley rim. While AI quietly rewrites the rules of global labor, our leaders are stuck in analog thinking, obsessed with patronage networks and provincial egos.
There is almost no serious discussion in parliament about what happens when Nepali migrant workers begin to be replaced by machines in the Gulf, South Korea, and Malaysia. Or when global supply chains automate and our cheap labor advantage evaporates. This lack of foresight isn’t just negligent but also it’s dangerous. Because when the economic ground shifts this dramatically, societies that aren’t prepared tend to fall. Nepal risks becoming a country with a young population untrained for a jobless world and an old political elite too entrenched in the language of labor unions, party cadres, and agricultural subsidies to grasp what is coming.
The next time you tune into Nepal’s parliamentary debates, listen closely. You’ll hear passionate arguments about ideologies and choice of political system but almost nothing about what happens when the very economies we rely on for jobs no longer need our people. The truth is, this tsunami isn’t on the horizon. It’s already at our doorstep. And Nepal is dangerously unprepared. This looming transformation should not just concern policymakers; it should alarm every Nepali, from the hills of Rolpa to the streets of Kathmandu.
