Elon Musk predicts future where anyone can 'wish for a castle' and AI will build them one
A world where everyone gets a castle sounds like Oprah wrote a fairy tale. Elon Musk says that’s what the future holds thanks to AI.
“Super intelligence will saturate all human needs by far,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said by webcast at Baron Capital’s annual conference on Friday.
“You could wish for a castle, or whatever you want basically, and the digital superintelligence can make it for you as a side project,” he added.
There will also be “universal extremely high income,” and “universal medical care that is better than the best medical care available on Earth today,” Musk said.
The world’s richest man has repeatedly predicted that advances in AI, robotics, and energy will slash costs, supercharge productivity, and boost economic growth.
He’s suggested that could usher in an age of abundance where goods and services are no longer scarce, money ceases to matter, and “everyone can have a penthouse if they want.”
Speaking to Ron Baron, one of his biggest shareholders and most steadfast supporters, Musk said tech advances will enable humans to harness so much energy that it will “completely saturate anything anyone could ever wish for on Earth.”
Describing the superintelligence era, he said: “Our economy will seem quaint, and our money system will seem like exchanging seashells for currency.”
Musk predicted that digital superintelligence will rapidly expand the global economy by 20% to 30% as it promises to “double the productivity of white-collar work.”
He also envisioned humanoid robots being five times as productive as people. They’ll work faster, he said, and can be on the job 24/7 as they don’t “take vacation, or bathroom breaks, or need to eat food, or anything like that.” He estimated that 20 million to 30 million robots could match the current output of working Americans.
During the conversation, Musk addressed the public backlash to the data centers powering the AI boom, which has centered on the water and power they consume and the noise they make. He said that Memphis is “booming” because of SpaceX’s presence there.
“The restaurants are full, the hotels are full. We’re paying at times twice the prevailing wage that people were earning before,” Musk said. “We’ve also helped out with local schools, and the tax revenue that the county and the city are earning is tremendous.”
Musk has faced intense skepticism over his past claims of future abundance, particularly his recommendation that people stop saving for retirement because their wealth will be “irrelevant,” and his proposal of government checks for all as the best response to job losses from AI.
Several of his peers have made similar projections. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates recently said AI will usher in “true abundance,” and robots will be able to “build houses, grow food, do surgery.”
But Gates also warned the 20-year transition to get there will be hugely “tumultuous,” as people won’t be needed to make most goods and services.
Similarly, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said AI promises to “raise the quality of life for everyone,” but there will be “unprecedented” disruption before it does.