Robotic Commons - Lorenzo Pieri’s Blog
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Lorenzo Pieri
Science, Tech and Fundamental Questions.
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When robots take over jobs, who decides what they do?
Robotics, AI and post-labour economics are often feared because they undermine the bargaining power of workers. If people earn income mainly by selling labour, then a world that needs less labour can become a world where most people lose power. The key point is: who owns the robots? Who decides what the robots will do?
I argue that robots that benefit and obey society at large are economically dominant and game-theoretically favoured. The end-game will be autonomous companies where AI handles management, robots handle production and logistics, and surplus is automatically reinvested or distributed according to a public charter. A fitting name for such companies is Robotic Commons, drawing from the concept of commons in economics.
This post is a followup of this post, where I explored the formulation of Robotic Commons as Decentralised Autonomous Organisations.
To answer the initial questions: while Robotic Commons specialised in basic human needs might become ownerless, similarly to global commons like international waters, air and space, others will remain publicly/privately owned. Their core feature of Robotic Commons is programmatically following the will of the majority (how to encode the will into a coherent set of instructions is a problem in itself of course, out of scope for this blog).
The argument is quite simple and divided in 3 steps: 1. Autonomous companies are likely to arise 2. Altruistic autonomous companies will undercut profit-seeking autonomous companies, making Robotic Commons dominant 3. Therefore we end up with Robotic Commons.
The Birth of Autonomous Companies
Private firms already have strong incentives to automate. Automation lowers labour costs, increases speed, reduces coordination costs, and gives owners more control over production. As AI improves, the logical endpoint is companies where AI systems perform much of the managerial function directly: planning, procurement, pricing, logistics, maintenance, customer support, forecasting and capital allocation. At the same time, robotics take over physical tasks: production, transport, warehousing, inspection, repair, cleaning, construction and resource extraction.<br>The result is autonomous companies: productive systems that require little human labour and little human management. At first, these will be privately owned. Capital will use automation to reduce its dependence on labour and firms that do so will outcompete firms that don’t.
Robotic Commons Domination
If an autonomous company can run itself, why should its surplus go to private shareholders rather than to the people it serves?
A private autonomous company must generate returns for shareholders. It is structurally engineered to charge as much as the market allows and to defend its margins.<br>Robotic Commons do not need to extract profit for outside owners. It can provide the same good or service closer to cost. Any surplus can be reinvested into lower prices, better service, resilience, expansion, or direct user benefits.
This gives Robotic Commons a structural advantage in mature, essential, or commodity-like sectors. If the product is standardized and the technology is available, then the firm that does not need to extract profit can offer better terms to users.<br>They will also spend less on marketing and sales. A private firm must constantly persuade customers that its product is worth buying and that its margins are justified. Robotic Commons can align users and beneficiaries: people use the service because they directly benefit from its efficiency.
This does not mean Robotic Commons are superior in every context. Private firms will still have some advantages in early-stage innovation, risky research, luxury goods, brand-driven markets or sectors where consumer preferences are highly diverse.<br>But once autonomous production is technically mature, Robotic Commons have a clear advantage in sectors where people mainly want reliable, cheap, universal provision: water, energy, food staples, housing components, transport, healthcare, basic manufacturing and digital infrastructure. Some Robotic Commons will take on robotic & AI research, creating a self-improving loop.
The first Robotic Common
Private incumbents will not give up profitable ownership structures right away. They may resist Robotic Commons through lobbying, regulation, platform control, exclusive supply chains and control over compute. So the first successful Robotic Commons may not come from a dominant incumbent. It may come from a state, foundation, public-benefit company, startup, philanthropic organisation or a coalition of users.
But once one credible Robotic Common...