Musk said Tesla’s Optimus robot could become “by far the greatest product of all time.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes his company’s forays into humanoid robotics, as well as broader technological developments, could lead to a drastic reshaping of the American and global economy.
During the company’s recent shareholder meeting, Musk said that Tesla’s Optimus robot could be “by far the greatest product of all time” and that the possibilities it opens up “will actually eliminate poverty.”
During an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast a few days earlier, Musk explained that advances in robotics and artificial intelligence could lead to an improved form of universal basic income (UBI) where “everyone can get the products or services he or she wants.”
Musk’s enthusiasm for automation and the promise of artificial intelligence now that Tesla is preparing to mass produce its humanoid robot is shared by certain business leaders in the United States. Figures like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have already predicted that global working and living conditions will change for the better.
But this enthusiasm comes with concerns that AI could upend the U.S. labor market, with some seeing new forms of social safety nets like UBI as a necessity rather than a luxury given the large-scale job displacement caused by AI.
During last week’s meeting at which shareholders approved a $1 trillion compensation package for Musk, the former Department of Government Efficiency executive predicted that there could ultimately be “tens of thousands of billions” of the company’s Optimus robots in circulation worldwide. Musk praised Optimus’s abilities, stating that the robot will be able to operate “better than the best human surgeon” and that it can be used to “prevent future crimes,” also describing the robot as “a kind of infinite money glitch.”
In The Joe Rogan Experience Musk predicted that AI and the mass distribution of robots like Optimus will be a positive development as work will become “optional” for many because human labor is no longer needed.
“You’ll have robots plus AI, and in the best case scenario we’ll have universal high income—not just universal basic income, but universal high income.”
Musk isn’t the only tech leader to suggest that AI has put the idea of a basic income seriously on the agenda. Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who was briefly associated with Musk’s America Party, is considered one of the most important supporters of the idea in the US. In Newsweek He said that he still finds it increasingly fitting “when millions of Americans are replaced and displaced by AI.” (This article was created in cooperation with newsweek.com)
