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Sen. Bernie Sanders, 83, appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” during a break from his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to discuss AI and socialism.
When Rogan asked how people would find purpose if AI takes over jobs and the government covers all needs, Sanders admitted he didn’t have a clear answer and attempted to reframe the issue as “a revolution in human experience.”
“Andrew Yang was talking about this giant epidemic of automation in this country and the solution being universal basic income, but that’s not the solution for meaning,” Rogan said. “And how do we convince all of these people that they have to not just take this money from the government, but also take action to give themselves meaning in their lives?”
Sanders answered (somewhat): “So throughout history, people have worked so hard just to stay alive, right? If you don’t need to do work, right, because we’re wealthy enough, how do you find meaning in your life?”
Sanders then called it a “trillion-dollar question” and warned against relying on AI, saying, “The answer is not to fall in love with your AI creature out there.”
Rogan pushed back: “Yeah, don’t do that. But also, how do you find meaning? How do you — if all you’re doing is just getting a check, and you can just stay at home and stare at the TV, and the money keeps coming, and then you eat processed food all day, and it’s all subsidized, what is life?”
Sanders answered the priority should be supporting workers displaced by AI, then added: “I think you tell those workers, you’re going to have health care as a human right, you’re going to have education as a human right, you’re going to have a decent income as a human right, and we’re going to lower — substantially lower — the work week. What happens later, when even more work is eliminated, and what the purpose of human life becomes, that is a very profound question.”
“What do you think happens?” Rogan asked.
“It’s hard to imagine,” Sanders said. “Then the answer will be that we are going to have to find different meaning in life. We have to find it in ourselves in ways that you don’t know and I don’t know, because we’re not there yet.”
Sanders admitted he’s unsure how soon the issue will arise but believes people can replace work with emotionally fulfilling activities. Rogan pushed back, asking how meaning would be provided to millions, saying, “You’re essentially redefining life for them.”
Sanders then admitted again: “I don’t have the answer to that question. That’s the problem. I don’t think anybody does.”
Watch Leftist Leader Bernie Sanders Struggle With The Basic Questions Of How Humans Will Find Meaning Once The Great Socialist Utopia Has Been Realized pic.twitter.com/yk9KaFuMBk
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) June 24, 2025
