In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, we explore the strange, growing consensus around Universal Basic Income, starting from Thomas Paine to Sam Altman, from civil rights leaders to crypto founders. With automation threatening jobs across sectors alike, UBI is being pitched as everything from a survival tool to a tech-fueled utopia. But is it actually viable? Or is it another overhyped dream from the same people who brought you the metaverse? We unpack the paradox of progress, where AI makes workers obsolete faster than systems can catch up, and ask whether UBI is the next logical step, or just a branded fantasy built on shaky promises.

Today I'll be talking about the modern conception of success and how our perceptions are often skewed by what we see online. I'llunpack how the internet distorted our perception of success and what that’s doing to our mental health, identity, and sense of direction. From the rise of hustle culture to algorithm-induced comparison loops, I'll look at how social media turned visibility into the new currency, and why that’s quietly burning so many of us out.

AI isn’t a god and it isn’t a demon. It’s a tool that reflects the systems, values, and incentives we’ve already put in motion. This episode explores the shift from people to compute, the quiet influence of algorithmic decision-making, the tension between control and empowerment, and the climate cost no one wants to talk about. The future of AI is not good or evil, it is messy, human, and still being written.