The CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Sam Altman, funded the largest basic income study in the U.S. to date. His nonprofit, OpenResearch, worked with researchers to give people living below the poverty line unconditional cash payments for three years.
Some 3,000 people between ages 21 and 40 from Texas and Illinois were part of the study. They earned less than $30,000 per year. One-third of those participants were given $1,000 per month (the recipients), while the other participants (the control group) were given $50.
The study found that recipients of the bigger checks had more flexibility to look for jobs that they actually wanted.
“Cash can increase people’s agency to make employment decisions that align with their individual circumstances, goals, and values. Recipients were more likely to be searching for a job, but they were more selective,” the study’s authors wrote.
In an interview, one participant in the study said, “Because of the [cash transfer] and being able to build up my savings, I’m in a position for once to be picky,” adding, “I don’t have to take a crappy job just because I need income right now. I have the opportunity to hold out and try and find the right fit.”
Another recipient said they were able to take a lower-paid entry level position in a field they wanted to work in, and in two years, they attained a six-figure salary. “If I didn’t have the cash transfers there is no way I could have taken that pay cut,” they said in an interview.
The study found no major difference in employment levels between those who received larger payments and the control group. Recipients only increased their spending for basic needs. Food, housing, and transportation were the biggest items. Payments helped recipients pay for health needs like braces and treatment for alcoholism. While the payments initially reduced stress, many health benefits faded after two years.
Sam Altman has been a proponent of the idea of universal basic income as AI reshuffles the labor economy and eliminates some jobs.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the group that conducted the study. It was Sam Altman’s nonprofit OpenResearch, not OpenAI.