Algorithmic Tax

Due to concerns that large catering enterprises, with the support of AI algorithms, would crush small and medium-sized businesses, Lin Yuan timely introduced the “algorithm tax”.

Lin Yuan believed that technology should be used cautiously.

Even though he was a beneficiary of technological development.

In Lin Yuan's view, since the modern industrial revolution, humanity has always had a fanatical trust in technology, as if technology is always positive and will always bring progress.

However, with just a little foresight, in today's world where AI is about to become widespread and automation is already prevalent, anyone with a brain would realize that the development of technology will make more and more people unnecessary.

If workers in factories had the potential to have their surplus value exploited, then the development of technology would cause most people to lose even the qualification to be exploited.

Because machines, with the enhancement of intelligence, are more effective than most people of ordinary quality.

Especially on industrial assembly lines, robotic arms are far more useful than manual labor.

Lin Yuan didn't dare to imagine what trend would emerge if this continued. Most people becoming unnecessary means the loss of their economic status. Under the powerful production capacity of modern industrial society, these people can naturally still survive, and even live quite comfortably.

However, with the loss of economic status, they would merely be existing.

If the pursuit of profit is allowed to continue unchecked, these people will eventually be mercilessly abandoned for being valueless. People will ultimately discover that only a small number of people are needed, paired with a large number of AI mechanical bodies.

So, how many people are needed to pair with AI mechanical bodies?

There will be no precise answer, because the answer is constantly changing.

As AI becomes more widespread, more and more people will become useless.

Lin Yuan even felt that this Earth might eventually be left with only one person.

So, what exactly is the purpose of technological development?

To improve production efficiency? Then what is the ultimate purpose of improving production efficiency? Isn't it to serve humanity?

If that's the case, then the development of technology should naturally be curbed.

Otherwise, on the one hand, technology is allowed to grow without restraint, while on the other hand, it is hoped that the added value brought by technology will be shared with those who did not participate.

This is absurd.

The basis of this theory is: the efficiency of producing cakes has increased, and not so many people are needed to participate in production. The freed up manpower can go produce other things.

This was logically consistent.

For a long time after the enlightenment of the Industrial Revolution, this logic was perfect.

However, damn it, humanity's overall production capacity is now in surplus.

That is to say, humanity will eventually discover: there's nothing left that needs to be produced.

Because there are only so many people in each place, only so much demand, and human demand for cakes is not unlimited.

Lin Yuan outlined a model.

Assuming the number of people eating cakes is constant, then as the efficiency of producing cakes increases, fewer and fewer producers will be needed. What then happens to those extra people?

Even considering the issue of wealth distribution, this concern would still exist.

Because the Earth can only support a limited population, and production capacity should not expand indefinitely.

Then humanity will sooner or later face a problem: satisfying the survival of all humans on Earth does not require so many people to participate in production.

After that, an even more perplexing question will arise: what is the value of those people who are freed up?

Lin Yuan and Musk had discussed this topic, and they agreed on one point: those people should focus their energy on exploring the future of humanity, such as exploring the vast universe.

However, this is clearly just wishful thinking on the part of people like them.

Because in reality, people like them are outliers; after people become wealthy, they choose to enjoy themselves. After they become even wealthier, they enjoy themselves to the extreme. Few people truly care about the stars above.

So why should those freed-up people explore the future of humanity? Wouldn't it be better for them to serve me? Wouldn't it be better for my own enjoyment to be even more intense?

This “me” is not a specific person, nor a specific group of people, but a part hidden deep within everyone's heart.

So, damn it, the ultimate destination of every developed country in this world is to vigorously develop the tertiary industry.

What is the tertiary industry? It's something for people to enjoy and mess around with.

The more developed a place is, the higher the proportion of its tertiary industry.

The tertiary industry is like a curse, trapping humanity.

If people in a certain place don't do this, and instead go develop aerospace heavy industry, they will quickly be hit hard by universal values.

But in Lin Yuan's view, those glittering nightlife scenes truly held less meaning than the vast starry sky.

Of course, Lin Yuan did not feel himself to be superior because of this, as he always felt that the computing power system would not allow him to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death like ordinary people. Therefore, he had a long future ahead of him, and he had plenty of time to consider whether to experience the glittering nightlife in his leisure.

Lin Yuan had also curiously asked Musk this question: why is he so fixated on rockets?

Musk's answer was honest: “To do something interesting while making a lot of money. Buddy, let me tell you a secret, technology can also bring power.

The people on this Earth are too terrible, that's why I can be the vessel for those great dreams.

People always have some pursuits, so I became the worldly embodiment of their ideals.

But, honestly, I really love this work.

Because the humans on this Earth are truly terrible.

Before I die, I will engrave this passage onto a golden record and throw it in all directions into the universe.

Countless years later, if aliens receive those records, I hope they know that among those terrible Earthlings, there are also some who are not so terrible.”

Lin Yuan did not intend to over-analyze Musk's rambling, as the latter was often erratic in private.

Lin Yuan instinctively wanted to keep the advancement of technology in his hands; he absolutely wanted to prevent technology from becoming a tool of oppression for the new era's internet landlords.

This was the original intention behind his creation of the “algorithm tax”.

The algorithm tax stipulates that the more turnover an enterprise generates from the algorithm it uses, the higher the proportion of algorithm licensing fees it pays, similar to the progressive tax rate of individual income tax.

The algorithm tax will continue to progress until it collects one hundred percent of the turnover.

Of course, no company would actually touch that hundred percent tax rate.

Every company will stay at the break-even point due to the progression of the algorithm tax.

Beyond this point, the burden of the algorithm tax will exceed profits.

As for what this point should be, Lin Yuan leveraged the self-regulating nature of the market and simply didn't bother to define it, instead calculating coefficients through AI and re-determining them annually.

In other words, the algorithm tax rate is actively adjusted annually by AI based on market feedback.

This way, there will be no giants in the catering industry that rely on algorithms to suppress small and medium-sized businesses.

At the same time, the introduction of AI also stimulated competition among small and medium-sized businesses.

To put it plainly, Lin Yuan's set of operations was to allow the fish in the pond to compete fully, while avoiding the emergence of large fish through a 'raising gu' (competitive breeding) approach.