The MOSAIC Model: Peter Diamandis' Bold Proposal for an AI-Powered Future
We are trying to build a world where AI and robotics are rapidly transform scarcity into abundance. One question looms larger than ever: How do we ensure everyone benefits from this unprecedented productivity boom?
On January 29, 2026, Peter Diamandis, founder of XPRIZE, Abundance360, and a leading voice on exponential technologies, dropped a detailed proposal that has the AI community buzzing. Titled "A Proposal for Universal High Income (UHI)", it builds directly on recent comments from Elon Musk and introduces a concrete economic framework called the MOSAIC Model. This isn't just another UBI discussion; it's a serious attempt to engineer a system where AI-driven wealth is redistributed to deliver high living standards for all.
From Universal Basic Income to Universal High Income
Elon Musk has been vocal about the coming era of abundance. In a recent Moonshots podcast with Diamandis, Musk described a future where AI and humanoid robots produce so much that work becomes optional, and society could afford something far beyond basic survival: Universal High Income. When Diamandis pressed him on the mechanics, Musk admitted, “This is my intuition but I don’t know how to do it. I welcome ideas.”
Diamandis took that invitation seriously. His proposal argues that AI flips the economics of scarcity to abundance, e.g., goods, services, healthcare, education, and more produced at near-zero marginal cost. The challenge isn't creating wealth; it's capturing and distributing it fairly.
The MOSAIC Model: How It Works
The acronym MOSAIC stands for a multi-channel approach to funding UHI without disrupting the economy. Here's a breakdown of the key components:
Multi-channel / Mechanism: No single tax can fund UHI alone; a "mosaic" of sources is needed.
Over-trend Ring-fencing: Capture only the extra profits above historical trends generated by AI windfalls. Baseline corporate taxes stay the same.
Savings (Government Automation Dividend): Use AI to automate government bureaucracy and redirect the cost savings.
AI-linked Deflation (Captured via Dynamic VAT): As AI drives prices down, adjust VAT rates upward just enough to keep consumer prices stable—capturing the "deflation dividend" for redistribution.
Income (Negative Income Tax): Distribute as a universal payment that ensures work always pays more.
Consolidation: Roll overlapping welfare programs into one streamlined payment.
The result? Even a modest version could provide non-working households with income equivalent to today's 30-40th percentile (lower-middle-class security). More aggressive capture could push it to 120% of median wages (upper-middle-class living for everyone).
Why Timing Matters
Diamandis and collaborator Daniel Schreiber (CEO of Lemonade) emphasize urgency. The political window for implementing such a system is widest now, before massive AI profits consolidate and lobbying efforts harden opposition. Waiting until job displacement becomes widespread could make meaningful reform impossible.
Act early, they argue, and we build a foundation for shared prosperity. Delay, and the window may close forever.
Reactions and the Bigger Picture
The proposal has already sparked lively debate. Supporters see it as a pragmatic way to avoid social unrest in a post-work world. Critics worry about disincentives to work or government overreach. Others suggest alternative paths, like treating AI as a partner rather than a resource, or focusing on energy as the new currency.
Regardless of your view, the conversation is shifting. We're no longer just talking about job automation. We're debating how to design the economic rules for a world of radical abundance.
Peter Diamandis' MOSAIC Model isn't a complete solution, but it's a rigorous starting point. It shows that Universal High Income isn't utopian fantasy. UHI represents a policy challenge with identifiable solutions.
As AI accelerates, the real question isn't whether abundance is coming. It's whether we'll have the foresight and collective will to share it.