Ellison: Tax Value Added, Not Labor, to Fund AI-Era Income
Oracle's co-founder told AI World the shift to a universal high income would take more than a decade and called replacing all workers nonsensical.
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said on-stage at the AI World conference that AI could make everyone healthier and wealthier, and that taxation should shift from human labor to value added. He made the remarks during the final keynote Q&A session at the event, according to techradar.com.
Ellison dismissed the idea that AI will replace everyone as nonsensical. He invoked economist Milton Friedman's negative income tax proposal, describing it as a reverse income tax, as the mechanism he had in mind.
He acknowledged the transition would take more than a decade, but said all of it is doable.
Layoffs frame the debate
The discussion lands against a backdrop of job losses in the sector. Layoffs.fyi has tracked over 135,000 tech-sector layoffs in 2026 to date, including around 21,000 Oracle workers between June 2025 and June 2026.
Elon Musk and other tech billionaires have already floated the concept of universal high income.
Quick answers
What did Larry Ellison say about AI and jobs at AI World?
He said the idea that AI will replace everyone is nonsensical, and that AI could make everyone healthier and wealthier.
How would a universal high income be funded, according to Ellison?
He said taxation should shift from taxing human labor to taxing value added, citing Milton Friedman's negative income tax proposal.
How long would the change take?
Ellison said it would take more than a decade, but that all of it is doable.