By 2040 nobody has a job. It’s not that we ran out of things to do, it is just that we don’t use the model based on labor and income anymore. It all started with the application of the universal basic income. People used to take the best job they could find while relying on their savings. Sometimes they stuck to their jobs because they feared not finding something better. Even governments offered legal concessions to businesses in exchange for fixing large amounts of labor. Once people didn’t have to choose their jobs out of scarcity, they became pickier about the jobs they were taking. Taking a job wasn’t a completely free choice before. Now only those truly willing to perform some activities do it. No one is looking after the paycheck. We got better practitioners, and they are highly motivated.
Some jobs have disappeared as they were particularly unpleasant for people. There are no teleoperators taking calls for clothing brands full-time, nor concierges attending the building hall, also there are way fewer fishermen. Since there were increasingly fewer people willing to take these roles, we had to redesign many of our processes, making them more intuitive.
Of course, technology had a role in all of this. However, we haven’t automated every task to replicate how life used to be. We are using robots in heavier industries. We are also applying AI nurtured with public data as an asset for the common good to improve decision-making and minimize workload. Nonetheless, there are way too many tasks that we can't automate. For those activities, we have to arrange deals with each other. People now have to take over way more tasks than they used to. Many of them are related to care, such as cleaning common spaces, cooking, or gardening. For example, when you go eating outside there are usually no waiters anymore, you have to serve yourself. Gamification is the cornerstone of our society. People are not forced to do anything in exchange for money. Then, they need to enjoy the activities they do or at least understand their purpose.
We still have people who study biology, people with amazing sewing skills, and people who fly planes. They have various incentives to do these activities, either creativity expression, prestige, curiosity, or self-fulfillment. They just don’t have to do these activities every day full-time. They do these when they want to or have committed with the people they work with. We had to find new ways of collaboration that were not based on labor to keep on having some of the systems we enjoyed, such as traveling. The experts create associations and manage their work to provide a stable service.
People take on other activities the rest of their day, like looking after their loved ones, crafting, or resting. Monday to Fridays is not all about work, and there is way less anxiety over productivity. In the beginning, many people didn’t know how to manage all that free time. It is actually always free time now. The fixed schedule of labor was frustrating, but it provided certainty to people’s life. People weren’t used to associating freely or reciprocity culture. It has taken some years for people to imagine new lifestyles that are not defined by their profession but by their purpose. Now people are too busy doing their own thing to think about jobs.
Feeling
When thinking about the future I am hopeful yet concerned. I think the social situation is possibly improving, yet this trend is fragile and requires continuous assessment of the situation. It is also easy to have a blurry vision of society as a whole, biased by your closer context.
Influence
I do have some power to influence the future because of where I live, my skills, and some of my privileges. I can’t do much by myself, as I lack the resources and influence. However, I can collaborate with others to affect, at least, my closer environment.
Updated on Tuesday, 17/02/2026
