Musk: AI May Surpass Human Intelligence Within 5 Years, Currency Importance Could Decrease in 10 Years

BlockBeats News, July 24th. During a 90-minute interview with The Economist, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, stated that artificial intelligence may surpass human intelligence in the next 5 years and predicted that in around 10 years, AI and robots may lead the world into a "highly prosperous era."

Musk believes that when AI systems and robots have sufficient digital intelligence and production capabilities, the global economy may approach a state of "infinite supply," where human work will no longer be a necessary condition for sustaining life, and the importance of money may gradually diminish.

He stated that in the future, if there are enough robots, society will have a "quasi-infinite economy," where artificial intelligence can produce goods and services beyond human consumption capacity. He even predicted that by around 2036, the importance of the traditional monetary system may significantly decrease.

Regarding the future economic operating model, Musk mentioned that the government may maintain social operation by directly distributing funds to the public. He also believed that the productivity improvement brought by AI might lead to deflation rather than inflation.

However, Musk admitted that the economic structure of the AI era may have significant differences from traditional economic laws concerning issues such as corporate profit models, government financial resources, and societal transformation.

Furthermore, Musk also discussed the combination of AI and space development. He mentioned that in the future, it may be possible to use data centers deployed in space to support AI computing and reiterated his long-term plan for human exploration of Mars.

During the interview, Musk also reviewed his involvement in the Trump administration's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). He admitted that he had devoted too much energy to the political field, saying he had been "led astray" to some extent, and stated that if he had to choose again, he might spend more time on his businesses.