Elon Musk continues to bring up that artificial intelligence and humanoid robots can radically change the economic order in the coming years. According to Musk, a new era may begin in about 10 years, where people will not have to work to make ends meet and money will lose much of its current importance. Musk’s most striking prediction is for 2036. In his interview with The Economist, Musk said, “Money will not be important in 2036,” and argued that artificial intelligence and robots will reach the capacity to produce the needed goods and services on a very large scale.
WORKING WILL TURN INTO A PREFERENCE
According to Musk, the transformation will proceed through two separate channels. As artificial intelligence takes over an increasing share of mental tasks such as software development, analysis, finance, law and engineering, humanoid robots will begin to replace humans in production, transportation, maintenance and other physical tasks. Arguing that if this situation comes true, the current working order in which people earn income by selling their time and labor may also change, Musk thinks that working in the future may turn into a personal choice rather than a necessity.
WILL IT BE COMPLETELY ELIMINATED?
Musk has expressed similar views before. The person at the center of the discussions said at the VivaTech event in 2024 that “none of us will probably have a job” in the future and stated that people can continue working as a hobby if they wish. In 2025, he predicted that working life could become optional within 10 to 20 years. Although experts largely agree that artificial intelligence will transform many professions, they do not share the same view that work will disappear completely or money will become dysfunctional in a short time. It is noted that limited resources such as energy, land, raw materials and property will continue to exist.
