You said people yearn for "the workplace"

No I didn't

The two aren't equivalent. One of them is an actual proven technology that definitively exists, the other one is still to prove itself.

I was paraphrasing and trying to be nice. Fine, you didn't say humans yearn for the workplace. You said humans existentially require the workplace.

I think if AI replaces humans in the workplace, even with UBI, humans would cease to exist shortly thereafter as our lives will have become meaningless

Okay let's do an experiment.

Get some annoying trust fund kid, take all their money away from them, and tell them that they now have to get a job but it's a good thing because now their life has meaning. Let's see how happy they are about it.

People are being harsh with the downvotes but I get what you mean. I get bored and restless doing nothing productive for long lengths of time.

I'm also guessing you don't mean a 40 hour grind where all the profit goes to a small group of individuals in your example.

If I was told I could work or study but didn't have to and it was public profits, I'd probably still end up doing a 20-25 hours a week in something.

You are a bit harsh with it though. I wouldn't say just family and hobbies is hollow.

Define "being useless". It certainly seems that "being useless", to you, it is either "not working" or "not creating monetary value", which would be super ironic given that there are many jobs around the world that make the person feel useless or worse

I'd say that anyone that feels the need to define themselves "by their role" has no clue on who they are or can be, needing the rest of society to direct them

Everyone defines themselves by their role. If you're only living for yourself, not helping anyone or doing anything for anyone else, why live?

How about you give them a wife and kids to take care of at the same time. Life would feel pretty pointless if I was only working to support myself

I don't know how you've managed it but you've managed to invent toxic-domestication, The idea that someone's life can't be worth living unless they are working. I don't know maybe you're young but when you get to your 40s you begin to realise that actually what you really want out of life is just to be left alone, you really aren't craving notoriety. If you can just sit in the hobby room and build airfix models or whatever then go to the pub, for the next 40 years you'd be happy.

I really don't know why you're arguing about this because there have been actual experiments where people have been given UBI and pretty much everyone ends up just going and doing their own stuff. I've never heard of anyone complaining about being given free money.

Everyone defines themselves by their role

I don't and I bet many people don't as well. I define myself by what I know, who I know, what I believe, like and dislike, have done and can do. Roles can be assigned, but they only serve as oversimplifications of what's expected of people. The role of "mother" only means that a woman has one or more children. Whether said children are blood related, adopted, whether she's a "good" or "bad" mother, whether she's married, widow, single, etc etc, is up in the air.

Your second argument there doesn't need roles to be answered either, or do you think only specific roles can help people? Life isn't an RPG with clear-cut classes

You're so right, how can I find meaning without making somebody else's money for them? Woe is me...

It's not about making money, it's about contributing to society, supporting your family. Being useful

If we did UBI today, then yeah, I see people finding roles for themselves in society that aren't measured by dollars. I mean if we live in a world where AI has replaced not just coding jobs but has basically replaced all jobs. Cooking, cleaning, factories, farming, etc.

I dont see a point in such a world. What am I contributing? Not to my employer; what am I contributing to my family? What is my job if not to provide for my family?