The revolution of AI is creating an enormous challenge, and its solution can be found in the very last law of the Rambam.
In recent years, and even more so in the period ahead, an unprecedented technological revolution has been unfolding in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Leading experts, among them Professor Daniel Schreiber, explain clearly and convincingly that we are approaching a profound transformation of the economy, the labor market, and society as a whole.
Professor Schreiber explains that AI is not just another tool designed to assist human beings. It is a system that will eventually replace people in almost every field. This will not happen overnight, and it will not happen dramatically. It will happen quietly.
At first, machines assist humans. Then they begin to decide for them. Eventually, they do everything on their own. In auto shops, computers already diagnose problems, and soon they will repair them as well. The mechanic stands aside, until he is no longer needed. In offices, computers write documents, manage accounts, respond to customers, and make decisions. No one is fired; companies simply stop hiring.
In stores, there are no cashiers. In factories, production lines run day and night without human hands. In transportation, drivers gradually disappear. Even professions once considered “intellectual,” such as medicine, law, and consulting, are slowly handing decision-making over to machines. This is not done out of malice, it is done because it is more efficient.
And then the great problem emerges.
If workers are no longer needed, unemployment rises. If there is unemployment, there is no livelihood. If there is no livelihood, people do not buy. And if people do not buy, the economy collapses. Even if machines can produce endlessly, without consumers the entire system falls apart. The world cannot function without people who buy. This is not ideology, it is reality.
Therefore, Professor Schreiber argues clearly that governments must intervene. They must establish policies that provide every person with a basic income, not charity, not a handout, but a foundation for life. This allows people to eat, pay rent, purchase necessities, and remain participants in the economy.
Such a policy saves not only individuals, but businesses and nations as well. Without it, unemployment could become economic and social devastation.
What Do We Do With All the Free Time?
But here we must be honest: even if the financial problem is solved, the human problem remains.
Assume there is a basic income. Assume there is no pressure to earn a living. Assume a person no longer needs to work in order to survive. A deeper question then arises: What does a person do with their life? Why do they get up in the morning?
Schreiber warns that a person without a role, responsibility, or sense of being needed can lose direction, not because they are bad, but because human beings need meaning.
This week, on Monday, we will celebrate the forty-fifth Siyum HaRambam. The Rambam, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, known as “the Great Eagle”was among the greatest halachic authorities of all time, one of the leading philosophers of the Middle Ages, a polymath, scientist, physician, researcher, leader, and one of the most revered figures in Jewish history. On his tombstone are engraved the words: “From Moshe to Moshe, none arose like Moshe.”
In the year 5744 (1984), the Rebbe initiated a global program encouraging every Jew to study a daily portion of the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. Mishneh Torah is unique: it is the only halachic work in the entire Jewish bookshelf that encompasses the entire Torah, clearly, concisely, and completely.
In truth, there is no other book in Jewish literature from the Talmud and its related works, including halachic and aggadic midrashim, that contains all the Mitzvos in the entire Torah in one unified system. Before the Mishneh Torah, such a work did not exist; and after it, none has yet been created. The Rambam’s work alone encompasses the full scope of Jewish life, in all areas and dimensions.
The Rambam opens his work with the words:
“The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there exists a First Being, who brings all existence into being.”
This reflects the essence of the verse: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One.”
And he concludes his work with the laws of Mashiach.
This week, as we complete the cycle of Rambam study, we conclude with a remarkable law, one that directly addresses what we are meant to do with the free time created by AI:
“At that time there will be no famine, no war, no jealousy, and no competition. Good will flow in abundance, and all pleasures will be as common as dust. The sole occupation of the entire world will be to know G-d.”
Over eight hundred years ago, the Rambam envisioned exactly such a world, a world without struggle for survival, without pressure, filled with abundance. And he explains clearly: this is not a world of idleness. It is a world of purpose.
The Rebbe often taught that human progress, including technological advancement, is not accidental. It is part of the preparation for Redemption. As material concerns loosen their grip, people gain the time and strength to devote themselves to Torah, mitzvot, learning, and purpose. Technology, the Rebbe explained, frees a person to become who they truly are.
“To know G-d” does not mean sitting all day studying philosophy. Da’at is not mere information, it is knowledge that shapes life. Knowledge that guides how a person lives, speaks, acts, and relates to others. It means bringing G-dliness into everyday life, not escaping the world, but transforming it into a place of holiness.
To know G-d means studying Torah, which connects a person to the Divine mind; performing mitzvot, which bring G-dliness into action; and doing good for another Jew, where G-d’s presence is revealed through love and kindness.
AI may free up our time, but only the Torah teaches us what to do with that time.
May we soon merit the fulfillment of the Rambam’s closing vision:
“And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
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