The idea that people would just mooch off the system and do nothing worthwhile if given a UBI is, i think, some kind of old justification or belief running through our culture from probably puritan roots (they had/have that certain "american" religious work ethic, right?). Certainly seems like some people would just loaf and live off that dough, others would feel a bit freed up to follow their passions. Some people with little sense of purpose and meaning in life might gain the meaning that our culture values and trusts them enough to give them back their time to take a deep breath, and lift their eyes up from a dusty road and look around themselves. Many of us would look to see where we might be of value in turn, seeing the world more clearly without a constant nagging stress.

Busy work for 40 years is also not fulfilling to most. If there's less uncreative work needed to be done by human hands, and such work by people makes them too tired when they get home to be creative, then a UBI would free that creativity in many cases. Sounds rather beautiful to me.