CNN
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Elon Musk says artificial intelligence will take all our jobs and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
“None of us will probably have a job,” Musk said of AI. Thursday at a tech conference.
Speaking remotely via webcam at VivaTech 2024 in Paris, Musk described a future where jobs will be “optional.”
“If you want to do something that's like a hobby, you can have a job,” Musk said. “But otherwise, AI and robots will provide the goods and services you need.”
For that scenario to work, he said, “universal high income” — not to be confused with universal basic income — would be needed, though he didn't share what that might look like. (UBI means the government gives everyone a fixed amount regardless of how much they earn.)
He said that there will be no shortage of goods or services.
AI capabilities have grown so rapidly over the past few years that regulators, companies and consumers are still figuring out how to use the technology responsibly. As AI spreads in the market, there are growing concerns about how it will change different industries and jobs.
In January, researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab found that workplaces are adopting AI more slowly than expected and feared. The report also states that most jobs that were previously vulnerable to AI are not currently economically viable for employers to automate.
Experts also largely believe that many jobs that require high emotional intelligence and human interaction will not need to change, such as mental health professionals, creatives and teachers.
Musk has been outspoken about his concerns about AI. During a keynote address on Thursday, he cited technology as his greatest fear. He cites Ian Banks' “Culture Book Series”, a fantasy look at a society driven by modern technology, as highly realistic and “a great vision of future AI”.
In a jobless future, though, Musk questions whether people will feel emotionally fulfilled.
“The question would be a really meaningful one – if computers and robots can do everything better than you, does your life have any meaning?” They said. “I think there's probably still a role for humans in that — that we can give meaning to AI.”
He also used his stage time to urge parents to limit the amount of social media that children can view because “they're being programmed by dopamine-maximizing AI.”