The article explores the political and economic aspects of the introduction of a universal basic income (UBI) as a tool of the modern state’s reflections on the technological and digital transformations of society and labor markets in the 21st century. It was revealed that in the context of the development of Industry 4.0, systemic changes are taking place in the labor market in the direction of increasing the share of non-standard forms of employment and, as a result, increasing turbulent conditions for maintaining employment and income for employees. These trends pose risks of political and social exclusion for workers and create imbalances between the goals of technological progress and social stability in modern societies. The article also examines the implementation of UBI pilot projects by individual states as a political response to the precarization and marginalization of workers in the digital age. Additionally, it identifies several economic, ethical, ideological, and philosophical barriers to scaling UBI programs.