Elon Musk claims that within 20 years, AI will render retirement savings obsolete
The tech tycoon asserts that artificial intelligence would bring about a world of plenty in which saving money for the future is no longer required.
Although Elon Musk is well-known for his futuristic forecasts, his most recent suggestion may cause financial experts to reconsider.
Saving for your golden years is going to be a thing of the past, according to the richest man in the world. Musk claimed that people won’t have to “worry about, like, squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years” since, in his opinion, it “won’t matter” in a recent episode of the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast.
Musk’s argument is predicated on the notion that artificial intelligence is developing at such a rapid pace that it will eventually meet all of our needs. “In the relatively near future, you could have whatever you want,” he told the audience, implying that artificial intelligence will bring down living expenses to almost nothing. Peter Diamandis, the host, concurred with this idealistic outlook, stating that everyone will essentially have access to necessities like housing, healthcare, and even entertainment in this future.
Musk’s timescale is aggressive, even though some people would find that thought comforting. He reaffirmed his prediction that by 2030, artificial intelligence will outsmart all of humanity together. Musk asserted, “You won’t need to save for retirement,” expressing his faith in the “universal high income” that he thinks the technology will produce. Not all of the podcast’s guests were prepared to embrace the idea, though; one noted that it is “fundamentally impossible” to predict exactly what artificial intelligence would be able to do in just ten years.
Red flags are also being raised by experts in the tech and banking sectors. Seven experts who recently spoke with Business Insider cautioned that individuals shouldn’t stop making contributions to their retirement accounts just yet.
“Most Americans should absolutely ignore these comments,” said Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, a research fellow at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, in reference to the dangers of heeding Musk’s advise. Musk’s conjecture conveys a false and hazardous message.
The skepticism is also present in the academic community. While AI will “undoubtedly reshape” our society over the next 20 years, Ekaterina Abramova, a machine learning professor at the London Business School, acknowledged that this does not mean money will vanish. “A future of ‘universal high income’ would depend less on AI itself than on governments choosing to redistribute its gains generously and sustainably, across borders and amid inevitable social friction,” she said, explaining that a world in which no one has to pay for anything depends more on politics than technology.
Although Musk is placing a wager on a future of “radical abundance,” rent and expenses are still a reality for the majority of people.
Unless you’re a billionaire who doesn’t have to worry about a “bumpy transition” to the future, it appears that the general consensus is to keep your 401(k) active for the time being.
