Saving for retirement is pointless thanks to the imminent “supersonic tsunami” of artificial intelligence and robotics, which will bring a world without scarcity, according to Elon Musk.
While the Tesla and SpaceX CEO admitted to being “more optimistic” than most, he insisted that people shouldn’t stress about building a nest egg for the distant future, contrary to the conservative advice of virtually all finance professionals.
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“Don’t worry about saving money for retirement in 10 or 20 years,” the world’s richest man said on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast last week. “It won’t matter.”
Part of Musk’s controversial vision lies in his idea of a world transformed by the rapid evolution of AI, robotics and energy technologies.
Musk’s controversial vision
By 2030, AI will surpass “the intelligence of all humans combined,” Musk predicted. He also stated that over time, there will be more humanoid robots than humans on Earth. Little by little, traditional employment will also be replaced, with office positions at the forefront.
“Anything that doesn’t involve shaping atoms, AI can probably do half or more of those jobs now,” he said.
These advances could lead to productivity increases so large, he said, that they will surpass “what people might imagine as abundance.”
Instead of a universal income, everyone will enjoy a “‘you can have whatever you want’ universal income” in the future, he said. In this world, the link between individual wages, savings and standard of living no longer makes sense.
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Even without savings, AI will help people get better medical care than is currently available within five years, as well as eliminate any limits on the supply of goods, services or educational opportunities.
Musk’s comments build on previous statements in which he claimed that AI and humanoid robots will make work “optional” within 10 to 20 years and make money itself irrelevant.
Musk has already compared the future of work to leisure activities, like playing sports or playing video games, rather than a need for survival.
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“If you want to work, it’s like going to the store and just buying some vegetables, or growing vegetables in your backyard. It’s a lot harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables,” Musk said during the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in November.
The negative sides of post-work
It’s true that Musk’s predictions about the future come at a time when many Americans are finding it difficult to save.
Partly due to persistent inflation and weak wage growth, just 55% of U.S. adults said they have an emergency fund worth three months of expenses, down from a peak of 59% in 2021, according to a Federal Reserve survey.
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Less than half of those surveyed said they could cover an expense of US$2,000 or more with their savings.
Surveys also consistently show that a large share of Americans are behind on retirement savings or have little or nothing set aside for life after work.
Musk is also not unaware of the possible side effects of a society without the need to earn a living.
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A high universal income could be accompanied by social instability, as people could face a deeper crisis of meaning, he warned.
“If you really get everything you want, is that really the future you want? Because that means your work won’t matter,” Musk said.
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