AI And Robotics Will Make Work Optional In Next 20 Years, Says Elon Musk On Nikhil Kamath Podcast

Tech

billionaire Elon Musk has made another bold prediction about the future of work, saying that in the next 20 years, most people may not need to work at all. Speaking on a podcast with Indian entrepreneur and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, Musk said rapid growth in artificial intelligence (ai) and robotics will push the world into an era where human labour becomes optional.During the conversation, Musk said, "My prediction is in less than 20 years, working will be optional. Working at all will be optional. Like a hobby."

Kamath then asked if this would be due to higher productivity, where machines take over all essential tasks. Musk agreed and added that people would still be free to work if they enjoy it, but it would no longer be a necessity for survival.Musk also compared future work to growing vegetables at home. He said people can still grow food in their garden because they enjoy it, but they don’t have to, as they can simply buy vegetables from a store. "It’s much harder to grow your own vegetables. But some people like to grow their vegetables, which is fine. But it will be optional in that way," he said.Musk admitted that his prediction could be doubted in the future, joking that people may replay the podcast 20 years later and say he was wrong. However, he remained confident that fast improvements in AI and robotics will make most manual and knowledge-based jobs unnecessary. According to him, machines will handle almost all routine work much faster and more accurately than humans.The Tesla and SpaceX chief has previously spoken about the need for universal basic income (UBI) when AI becomes powerful enough to replace most jobs.Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a system where the government gives every citizen a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, without any conditions. Whether rich or poor, working or not, all people receive the same amount.