Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
What happens to 8 billion people in a world where human labor is obsolete?
We explore the "Robot Economy" and test whether modern economics can survive an AI takeover.
Imagine waking up in a world where robots farm the land, AI runs the supply chains, and machines can argue your case in court.
In this episode of Economics Labs, we test economic logic to its limit, and we dive into a future to explore whether human labor is obsolete, whether scarcity is a thing of the past, and what it means to be human in an AI-augmented economy.
Our Guest Experts:
Liya Palagashvili: Director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Jon Hartley: Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution and host of the Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century Podcast.
Susannah Petitt: Associate Director, Notre Dame Strengthening Families Research Initiative.
Chapters:
0:00 - 0:16 - Introduction to AI and Labor Market Changes
0:16 - 0:50 - The Role of Humanity in an AI-Driven World
2:42 - 4:35 - Creative Destruction and New Job Creation
5:54 - 7:47 - AI's Impact on White Collar vs. Blue Collar Jobs
9:40 - 11:32 - AI Augmentation vs. Automation
14:26 - 16:45 - AI in Developing Countries
16:54 - 19:49 - Regulatory Frameworks for AI
26:27 - 30:14 - The Future of Work and Human Skills
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Resources:
labormarketmatters.com
substack.com/@liyapalagashvili
fee.org/articles/artificial-intelligence-in-the-united-states/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/brussels-vs-washington/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/did-ai-break-the-job-market/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/why-we-shouldnt-be-concerned-about-ai-replacing-jobs/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
Chapter 7: fee.org/ebooks/economics-in-one-lesson/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
What happens to 8 billion people in a world where human labor is obsolete?
We explore the "Robot Economy" and test whether modern economics can survive an AI takeover.
Imagine waking up in a world where robots farm the land, AI runs the supply chains, and machines can argue your case in court.
In this episode of Economics Labs, we test economic logic to its limit, and we dive into a future to explore whether human labor is obsolete, whether scarcity is a thing of the past, and what it means to be human in an AI-augmented economy.
Our Guest Experts:
Liya Palagashvili: Director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Jon Hartley: Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution and host of the Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century Podcast.
Susannah Petitt: Associate Director, Notre Dame Strengthening Families Research Initiative.
Chapters:
0:00 - 0:16 - Introduction to AI and Labor Market Changes
0:16 - 0:50 - The Role of Humanity in an AI-Driven World
2:42 - 4:35 - Creative Destruction and New Job Creation
5:54 - 7:47 - AI's Impact on White Collar vs. Blue Collar Jobs
9:40 - 11:32 - AI Augmentation vs. Automation
14:26 - 16:45 - AI in Developing Countries
16:54 - 19:49 - Regulatory Frameworks for AI
26:27 - 30:14 - The Future of Work and Human Skills
Please Subscribe: youtube.com/@FEEonline
Follow us everywhere:
FEE on Instagram: instagram.com/feeonline
FEE on Facebook: facebook.com/feeonline
FEE on X: https://x.com/feeonline
FEE on TikTok: tiktok.com/@feeonline
Resources:
labormarketmatters.com
substack.com/@liyapalagashvili
fee.org/articles/artificial-intelligence-in-the-united-states/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/brussels-vs-washington/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/did-ai-break-the-job-market/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
fee.org/articles/why-we-shouldnt-be-concerned-about-ai-replacing-jobs/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
Chapter 7: fee.org/ebooks/economics-in-one-lesson/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fee-online
