The conversation around Artificial Intelligence and its impact on our economic future is intensifying. With every passing day, we inch closer to a world where many traditional jobs may become obsolete. A recent article in the Times of India by Santosh captures this beautifully, exploring the paradox of an economy that needs consumers even as it automates production.
Santosh puts forth a radical and thought-provoking idea: what if consumption itself becomes a profession? He imagines a future where our choices, our attention, and even our brand loyalty translate into fractional ownership of the companies we support. It’s a compelling vision of how value could be redistributed in an AI-driven society.
Reading his piece, I felt a strong sense of validation. While the concept of earning micro-shares from a coffee purchase is futuristic, it touches upon a principle I have been advocating for many years: individuals must have ownership and control over the value they create in the digital world. The core idea I want to convey is this — I brought up a similar thought years ago. I had already predicted this challenge and proposed a solution. Seeing how the conversation has evolved, it's striking how relevant that earlier insight still is.
My proposal, which I've detailed in blogs like "Privacy for Sale" and "Digital Dividend from Demographic Data [ 4 D]", is more direct and, I believe, immediately feasible: we must enable every individual to monetize their own personal data.
Today, tech giants build trillion-dollar empires by harvesting our data—our clicks, our preferences, our digital footprint—and selling these insights to advertisers. We, the creators and rightful owners of this data, receive nothing in return. We are the product, yet we see none of the profit.
Reflecting on it today, I feel a renewed urgency to revisit those earlier ideas. The framework for tracking and monetizing data already exists; it's the engine of the current digital economy. The only missing piece is a system that redirects a share of that revenue back to the user. It is not about a universal basic income funded by strained governments, but about a digital dividend earned directly from our own digital assets.
Santosh rightly questions the feasibility and potential for surveillance in his proposed model. These are valid concerns. However, a system for data monetization tackles the value distribution problem at its source. It is not about tracking every cup of coffee but about getting paid for the data profile that led to the coffee advertisement on your screen.
As AI continues to reshape our world, the most valuable commodity will not be what machines produce, but the human attention and data that guides them. Giving individuals control over this asset is the most logical and equitable step toward building a sustainable economic future.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
Of course, if you wish, you can debate this topic with my Virtual Avatar at : hemenparekh.ai
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