Tech Tycoon Elon Musk has declared that traditional retirement planning is obsolete due to coming technological advances he believes will eliminate scarcity. Musk says, “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter.”
Fortune reports that Elon Musk, currently the world’s wealthiest individual, says that saving money for retirement serves no purpose given what he describes as an approaching wave of AI and robotics capabilities. Speaking on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Musk outlined his vision for a future where technological progress renders conventional financial planning obsolete.
On the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast last week, Musk stated: “Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter.”
Musk’s comments on retirement savings are similar to his recent claims that in the AI utopia of his imagination, work will be “optional” and treated like a hobby:
Musk explained, “My prediction is that work will be optional. It’ll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that. If you want to work, [it’s] the same way you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you can grow vegetables in your backyard. It’s much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables.”
Musk attributes this future of optional work to the rise of millions of robots in the workforce, capable of ushering in a wave of enhanced productivity. The tech mogul, worth approximately $470 billion, has been working on consolidating his sprawling business interests into his broader vision of an AI-fueled, robotic-powered future. This includes his goal of having 80 percent of Tesla’s value come from his Optimus robots, despite continuous production delays for the humanoid bots and the departure of key executives.
According to Musk, rapid developments in AI, robotic systems, and energy technologies will fundamentally reshape human society. He projects that by 2030, artificial intelligence capabilities will exceed the combined intellectual capacity of all humans. Additionally, he anticipates a future where humanoid robots outnumber people on the planet. “Anything short of shaping atoms, AI can do probably half or more of those jobs right now,” he said.
The entrepreneur predicts these technological shifts will initially impact white collar employment. He stated that artificial intelligence can already perform approximately half or more of jobs that do not involve physically manipulating atoms. As automation expands, traditional employment as currently understood will gradually disappear.
The billionaire further claims that within five years, artificial intelligence will enable access to medical treatment superior to what exists today, even for those without financial resources. He also predicts the elimination of constraints on access to products, services, and educational resources.
These forecasts arrive during a period when numerous Americans face challenges building savings. Contributing factors include ongoing inflation pressures and stagnant wage increases. Federal Reserve survey data indicates that only 55 percent of American adults maintain an emergency fund covering three months of expenses, representing a decline from 59 percent in 2021. Less than half of survey participants reported having savings sufficient to cover an unexpected expense of $2,000 or greater.
Read more at Fortune here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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