Ever read Vonnegut's _Player Piano_? Eventually there's just no real work to be done, unless you want to invent even more bullshit jobs for the FIRE sector.

Very similar story in Zajdel's Limes Inferior

>I just can't rationalize the idea of paying an entire population for nothing.

And the crazy thing is, that we actually have SO much that needs to be done. There's massive shortages of all type of roles that can be filled by pretty much anyone.

What other job would you recommend? It seems like the ones considered low hanging fruit for automation, the drudge-work, are actually resistant, but I don't really feel like asking people if they want fries with their burger.

Nobody at the beginning of the industrial revolution could have imagined the types of post-revolution jobs we have now. So "tell me what job to get then" is the wrong mindset.

Will I need to go to college for a few years to get this theoretical new job? Will my health insurance be covered if I do? As ever, I'm glad I never wanted children because just keeping my own ass sheltered, fed, and well(ish) is hard enough.

Maybe? Probably?

It sounds like your problem is less with your specific job being obsoleted (or made less lucrative to you) by AI and more with just having to work in the first place. I can't really help with that.

Well, I do have a crippling illness that results in some disability, so being able to work (and especially to keep my health insurance) is indeed a significant concern of mine.

>I don't really feel like asking people if they want fries with their burger.

McDonalds and others have kiosks already. One place I frequent only has touch screens for ordering.

The US already plays a great many people for nothing. David Graber's book Bullshit Jobs goes into this in detail. When it comes to UBI, the question is, will people do nothing but sit on the couch and play videogames, or will they do something productive and beneficial to their fellow human beings, that they could not afford to do without UBI?

> Serious question: Why is the answer to firms automating everything "give me money for doing nothing" and not "get a different job?"

Because eventually, there will not be many jobs left that cannot be automated. Cleaning and some of the trades will remain as long as we get iRobot-style droids with dexterity and intelligence to match a human, as will politics and management, but everything else will get automated.

The question is, will we manage to shift our society away from the millennia-old model of "one's employment defines one's worth in society" to "everyone is worth the same in society" in time, or will there be bloody fights in the transition?

People fought and died in the streets to get OT pay and 5 day workweeks in the US. The CIA has assassinated union leaders in the Global South for decades. You tell me.

The answer should be: "Give me money so I can do things I want to do." Most people want to feel useful and valued, so people will still volunteer and do useful work even if they don't have to do it to survive.