AI eliminated 54,000 U.S. jobs in 2025. Tech giants cut 245,000 positions between October 2025 and January 2026. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy openly states AI means "fewer people" and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks about "reimagining" work for the AI era.

Geoffrey Hinton (the "Godfather of AI" and Nobel Prize winner) predicts 2026 as the tipping point for mass displacement. That's now.

The conventional response is to accept mass unemployment as inevitable, propose inadequate band-aids, and
let AI productivity gains turn into private profit while workers face poverty.

But there's a better way.

What If AI Freed Us to Be Human?

The Industrial age displaced farm workers → and they moved to factories.
The Information age displaced factory workers → and they became information workers.
Now, the AI age displaces information workers → but where do they go?

The Age of Arts and Science.

Imagine a world where AI handles routine cognitive work while humans pursue what makes us human:

• Creating art: Painting, writing, music, film, theater, cooking, dance

• Discovering science: Research and invention driven by curiosity, not grant desperation

• Engaging in sports: The ultimate fusion of art and science, physical mastery and strategic thinking

• Caring for loved ones: Raising children with actual time, tending to aging parents

• Building community: Organizing, mentoring, creating social fabric

• Working less: 35-hour weeks with maintained pay as AI increases productivity

Not because we're lazy, but because AI does cognitive drudgework better than we do. Why would humans compete with machines at machine tasks when we could pursue human excellence?

This Works: The Evidence

Iceland Proved That Shorter Work Weeks Strengthen Economies

Between 2015-2019, Iceland tested 35-36 hour weeks with no pay cuts:

• 86% of workforce now has reduced hours

• 5% GDP growth in 2023 - the second-highest in rich Europe

• Highest productivity increases among Nordic countries

• 3.6% unemployment - Europe's lowest

92% of companies worldwide that tried four-day weeks kept them.

UBI Pilots Showed That Income Support Works

Finland, Kenya, Minneapolis - all found the same:

• Recipients maintain or increase work participation

• Mental health and wellbeing improve dramatically

• People pursue education, entrepreneurship, creativity

• No evidence of laziness - just substantial positive effects on occupational choice

The Math

AI could replace 11.7% of U.S. workforce - that's $1.2 trillion in wages. Progressive taxation captures those avoided labor costs and invests them in:

• Universal basic services (healthcare, education, childcare)

• Compensation for care work, artistic creation, scientific research, athletic pursuit

• Infrastructure for creativity (studios, labs, fields, performance spaces)

The money exists. It's just a question of who benefits.

How We Get There

There are three pillars that we need to build (explained in more detail here):

1. Capture AI Productivity Gains
Progressive taxation on AI-driven automation, mandatory profit-sharing, sovereign wealth funds (like Alaska's oil fund or Norway's $1.7 trillion fund)

2. Redistribute as Public Goods
Universal basic services, arts/sciences/sports infrastructure, stipends for parents, caregivers, artists, scientists, athletes, community organizers

3. Restructure Values
Measure wellbeing not GDP, educate for creativity not job-training, normalize arts/sciences/care/sports as legitimate work

Read the full blueprint on this page.

The Opposition

Big Tech spent $50 million on federal lobbying in nine months of 2025. They created Super PACs, secured executive orders banning state AI regulation, and condition federal funding on states avoiding "onerous" rules.

Why? Because capturing AI gains for public benefit threatens the $1.2 trillion they expect to privatize.

But opposition isn't invincible. Iceland's unions did it. States have constitutional authority. Coalition power (labor + arts + sciences + sports + care workers) can match corporate lobbying. Voters understand the threat.

Read the resistance analysis on this page.

What You Can Do

Workers: Document your AI displacement story. Join unions. Demand profit-sharing.

Artists, Athletes, Scientists: Join coalitions demanding sustainable funding from AI taxation.

State Legislators: Your state can lead. We have draft legislation and fiscal analysis ready.

Union Leaders: Stop fighting defensive battles. Demand offensive strategy: capture productivity gains.

Everyone: Start here—read the core series:

• The Vision - Why the Age of Arts and Science is the answer

• The Blueprint - How we implement it (taxation, funding, infrastructure)

• The Opposition - Corporate resistance and how to beat it

Then [sign up for action alerts →](signup link)

Quick Answers

"Isn't this socialism?"
Alaska's Permanent Fund (oil dividends since 1982, Republican governor). Norway's $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Same mechanism, different resource. If it's capitalism for Alaska/Norway, it's capitalism here.

"Won't shorter weeks kill productivity?"
Iceland: 5% GDP growth, highest Nordic productivity. Microsoft Japan: 40% productivity gains. Companies keep four-day weeks because they work.

"Where's the money?"
$1.2 trillion in wages companies expect to save through AI automation. Progressive taxation captures it for public investment instead of private profit.

"Won't this kill innovation?"
Mass unemployment kills innovation. Desperate workers survive—they don't create, discover, or build. The Age of Arts and Science maximizes innovation by freeing humans from survival anxiety.

"What about jobs AI can't replace?"
Many continue (human judgment, creativity, empathy, physical presence). But as AI handles routine work, we need fewer people in those roles. Question is whether displaced workers transition with dignity or face poverty.

"Seems impossible given corporate power."
Iceland did it. $50M lobbying is real but coalition power can match it. State action bypasses federal capture. Ballot initiatives bypass legislatures. Difficult ≠ impossible.

The Timeline Is Urgent

Hinton's 2026 tipping point is now. Once unemployment spikes, corporate power grows. The window to build coalitions and pass state legislation is narrowing.

Every month we wait:

• More workers are displaced without support

• More AI gains become private profit

• Corporate resistance becomes more entrenched

• Transformation path becomes harder

Binary Choice

Path 1 (Current): AI productivity → corporate profit → worker displacement → wealth concentration → social collapse

Path 2 (Proposed): AI productivity → progressive taxation → public investment → human flourishing in arts, science, sports, care, community

The technical capability exists. The economic resources exist. The working models exist (Iceland, Finland, Kenya, Alaska, Norway).

What's needed is organization.

Labor + arts + sciences + sports + care workers + parents + educators - all united around clear vision and concrete demands.

Join the Movement

Sign up for:

• Action alerts when state legislation is introduced

• Resources for engaging legislators

• Success stories from pilot programs

• Coalition opportunities in your area

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Contact:
Media: press@ageofartandscience.org
Legislative: policy@ageofartandscience.org
Organizing: organize@ageofartandscience.org

The Age of Arts and Science won't happen by accident. Corporate resistance is real and organized. But coalition power can beat it.

Will you help build this future?

[Join the movement →]

Framework developed by Craig McDonogh, Ethicore Advisors. Grassroots movement funded by supporters, not corporate donors. We don't take money from companies opposing worker protections or AI regulation.