The Potential Impact of AI on Social Security’s Future - Above the Law
Although artificial intelligence (AI) is still a relatively new technology, its fast-paced arrival in the business world and the projections for its rapid expansion have many pondering what the long-term effects on the workforce will be. And as soon as workforce considerations enter the fray, many economists’ attention quickly turns to Social Security.
With the possibility that mature AI will displace segments of the workforce, it becomes reasonable to think about the related displacement of payroll taxes to support the payment of Social Security benefits. Recognizing that Social Security is methodically moving toward insolvency, any further impact on an already diminishing workforce will likely need to be factored into reform measures needed to maintain the system’s ability to pay full benefits, a problem projected to surface less than a decade from now. Remember that the ratio of workers (taxpayers) to beneficiaries is continuing to drop, and is now in the range of 2.7-to-1, so any further drop spells further problems for Social Security financing.
It’s not a simple thing to project, since the long-term implications of AI in the workforce are relatively unprojectable at this point, but now is the time to add this conundrum to the mix as lawmakers deal with the Social Security insolvency issue. In this regard, a post by Steven Chung on abovethelaw.com provides some food for thought on the issue and should be considered in the debate on Social Security’s future. And, speaking of debates, it was fascinating to see in last night’s Republican Presidential Candidate Debate the total absence of attention on the plight of Social Security. Assuming this issue finds traction in Washington at some point hopefully soon, the points raised by Mr. Chung in his article might be a value-added component to lawmakers’ deliberations. Click here to read the post.