Treasury Minister Chris Thomas has confirmed no allowances have been made in the financial forecast for the introduction of universal basic income.
He gave MHKs the update as he recalled his youthful enthusiasm for the policy in 1980s Paris.
Responding to a question from Julie Edge, Mr Thomas said: “I remember a couple of years ago getting an excellent book as a Christmas present to do with the effects of AI on the world of economics and society in the future.”
He added: “It takes me back to the 1980s when I was a young fellow, bit more left wing, wandering around Paris with my copy of André Gorz’s ‘Farewell to the Working Class’ and I rushed home and joined the basic income Research Group.”
Modelling
Ms Edge asked whether modelling had been done on “the job risks and the impacts of an AI world on the island” and the effect on the Isle of Man’s financial forecast.
Mr Thomas said he was “not aware” of any specific modelling in the context of the island.
He revealed a 2014 Treasury report recommended further consideration of UBI, then called Citizen’s Income, but said the concept “was not supported by Treasury at the time, nor by this place upstairs and no further work was done in relation to it since”.
Mr Thomas acknowledged the policy remains “incredibly expensive”, citing Finland’s trial.