By Kehinde Victor
KEY POINTS
- Elon Musk says saving money for the distant future may become unnecessary because of what he calls “super intelligent abundance”.
- He expects advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and energy to make goods and services widely available.
- Musk has previously predicted that retirement savings and conventional money could lose their importance in a future of abundant resources.
- His comments come as technology leaders debate how AI could reshape jobs, income and the cost of living.
MAIN STORY
Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has argued that saving money for the distant future may be pointless, predicting that advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and energy will create an era of widespread abundance.
Musk made the latest remark in a post on X on Thursday, responding to a user who said they had stopped worrying about questionable spending decisions because they expected a future in which most financial concerns would no longer matter.
“Saving money for the distant future is pointless with the advent of super intelligent abundance,” Musk wrote.
The comment reinforces his long-held prediction that technological progress will eventually make traditional financial planning, including saving for retirement, less relevant.
During a podcast episode released in January, Musk had similarly advised people not to worry about saving for retirement over the next 10 or 20 years.
“Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years,” he said. “It won’t matter.”
He argued that rapid advances in technology would increase productivity and make resources more widely available, allowing people to access goods, services and healthcare without the financial limitations that exist today.
THE ISSUES
Musk’s prediction rests on the expectation that AI, robotics and energy technology will transform production and reduce the cost of providing goods and services.
In the future he describes, robots would perform much of the work currently done by humans, while technological advances would make essential services and products more accessible.
He has also suggested that AI-related job losses could require governments to provide regular financial support to citizens as traditional employment becomes less important.
However, his comments raise a practical question about how people should manage their finances during the transition to the future he predicts.
Musk has acknowledged that the shift could be difficult, describing the transition as potentially bumpy. His vision also assumes that technological progress will translate into broad access to resources, rather than benefits being concentrated among companies and individuals that own the technology.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“If any of the things that we’ve said are true, saving for retirement will be irrelevant.” – Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer, Tesla and SpaceX.
“Anyone can have whatever stuff they want.” – Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer, Tesla and SpaceX.
WHAT’S NEXT
Musk’s predictions form part of a wider debate among technology leaders about how AI and automation could change employment, wealth and access to essential services.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also predicted that AI and robotics could create widespread abundance, with machines capable of building houses, growing food and performing surgery.
However, Gates has warned that the next two decades could be highly disruptive as technological advances reduce the need for human labour in producing many goods and services.
Musk has separately predicted that advances in robotics and space travel could eventually make money and conventional currency less relevant in a future economy that extends beyond Earth.
BOTTOM LINE
Musk believes advances in AI, robotics and energy could eventually make long-term savings less important by reducing scarcity and expanding access to goods and services. But that is a prediction about a future that has not yet arrived, not a reason to assume that retirement savings are unnecessary today.
Source: Yahoo Finance
