Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, owner of the X
“My prediction is that work will be optional. It will be like playing video games,” said the multi-billionaire: “Assuming continued improvement in AI and robotics, which seems likely, money will no longer be relevant.”
Tycoon Elon Musk predicts a very near future in which work will be optional and money will no longer be relevant, thanks to the combined advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
The vision was presented by Tesla’s CEO at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, where he argued that, within 10 to 20 years, having a job will be an individual choice, rather than an economic necessity.
“My prediction is that work will be optional. It will be like playing sports or playing video games,” Musk pointed out, according to the magazine. “If you want to work, it’s like going to the market and buying vegetables, or growing vegetables in your backyard. It’s much more difficult to grow vegetables in the backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables,” he metaphorized.
The robots and musk, Musk and the robots
At the center of this vision is a deeply automated economysupported by millions of robots performing tasks currently performed by humans.
Musk, whose fortune is estimated at around $470 billion, has sought to transform Tesla into a much broader company than a simple electric vehicle manufacturer. One of the pillars of this strategy is , a humanoid robot that, in his own words, could represent in the future 80% of Tesla’s value, despite successive delays in its scaled production.
Goodbye, money
Musk also believes that, in this world, money will no longer be a problem. It is inspired by the science fiction works of Iain M. Banks, in particular the “Culture” series, where a post-scarcity universe is governed by advanced artificial intelligence and the notion of traditional employment practically disappears.
“In these books, money does not exist. It’s interesting,” said Musk. And my guess is that if it continues long enough — assuming there is continued improvement in AI and robotics, which seems likely — money will no longer be relevant“, points out the billionaire.
Musk had already suggested the idea of a “universal high income” to sustain a society in which work is not necessary, although without ever detailing how such a system would be implemented.
Instead of an idyllic scenario, the automated future could mean more inequality and economic insecurity, warn critics of Musk’s position. Economists interviewed by Fortune consider that turning this vision into reality will be anything but simple.
Ioana Marinescu, economist and professor of public policy at the University of Pennsylvania, emphasizes that, despite the falling costs of AI, robotics remains expensive and difficult to scale. Physical machines are expensive, specialized and slower to implement in companies.
Samuel Solomon, professor of labor economics at Temple University, draws attention to the political challenge of implementing mechanisms such as universal basic income.
AI is already generating enormous amounts of wealth, but the way this wealth is distributed is far from inclusive. The current AI boom has, in fact, widened the gap between the richest and the rest of the population, with large technology companies revising their profit forecasts upwards, while the majority of other companies are left behind.
In addition to the economic aspects, existential questions also arise. Anton Korinek, professor at the University of Virginia and director of the Economics of Transformative AI Initiative, recalls classic studies, such as the famous Harvard study of 1938, which show that much of human satisfaction comes from meaningful relationships, many of which today are built around work.
Musk himself recognizes this uncertainty. If computers and robots do everything better than humans, he asks, what meaning will human life have?
