it is required now, or all civilization collapses.

Civilization collapses unless people stop being short-sighted and greedy, trying to cut corners whenever possible?

I know which outcome I'd put my money on.

You're going to have to expand on this one.

They are expressing the idea that AI is so effective that it will make human work redundant necessitating a decoupling of resource allocation as a reward for performing work.

I don’t agree, but that’s the thinking