Meme of the day: Viral post asks who will buy AI-made products if jobs disappear

A meme about artificial intelligence and employment has gone viral on X, striking a chord with users who are increasingly anxious about the future of work. Shared a user named Sagar, the post blends humour with a serious economic question that many people have been quietly grappling with.A viral meme went viral for highlighting the paradox of AI taking jobs while still depending on human consumers to sustain demand. (X/@sagarcasm)The meme features a still of actor Akshaye Khanna from the film Dhurandhar. His intense, contemplative expression forms the backdrop to a pointed question displayed at the top of the image: “If AI will take away all the jobs, who will buy the products that AI will produce?”A paradox of automationThe question captures a central paradox in the automation debate. As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, companies are using it to streamline operations, reduce costs and improve efficiency. While this may boost productivity and profits, it also raises concerns about large scale job displacement.If significant numbers of people lose their income due to automation, their purchasing power could shrink. Without consumers to buy goods and services, businesses may discover that higher productivity alone cannot sustain economic growth. In that sense, the meme’s pairing of a grave expression with a stark economic dilemma has resonated widely.The post quickly drew reactions from users who found the question both humorous and unsettling. One user wrote, “This is funny but also genuinely scary.” Another commented, “We are automating ourselves out of purchasing power.” A third said, “Productivity without people is pointless.” Others added, “The economy runs on demand, not just supply,” and “If nobody earns, nobody spends.” One response read, “This meme summarises the entire AI debate in one line,” while another remarked, “We need to rethink how value is created in society.”Take a look here at the meme:Self worth beyond economic valueThe discussion gained further depth when Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho Corporation, weighed in on the broader implications of AI. Taking to X, Vembu wrote: “If our notion of self-worth comes from the economic value we add, or if it comes our intellectual pretense (cough), AI may pose a serious challenge to our self-worth. On the other hand no one takes up activities like taking care of children, teaching children, taking care of the elderly, coming back to farming leaving a well paying job, going into the forest as rangers because they love the forest, local temple priests who do the daily rituals even when no one shows up at the temple, classical musicians who practise daily and perform for even very small crowds, none of them do it because those activities pay well. They will be unaffected AI. Humanity may organize itself more towards such activity.”His remarks suggest that while AI may disrupt traditional employment structures, it may also prompt society to reconsider how it defines purpose, contribution and self worth.