Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that artificial intelligence will replace all human jobs in the future, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Speaking about artificial intelligence at the VivaTech conference in Paris on Thursday local time, Musk said, “Maybe we won't all have jobs.”
Musk said future jobs would be “optional.”
He said, “If you want to do a job that's a bit like a hobby, you can do it. But beyond that, AI and robots will provide whatever goods and services you want.”
Musk said that to achieve this vision, a “generally high income” is needed, rather than a general basic income. “There will be no shortage of goods and services,” he said.
On the other hand, Musk also bluntly expressed his concerns about artificial intelligence. He called this technology his biggest fear. He mentioned Ian Banks' “Civilization” science fiction series as the most realistic and “the best idea of future artificial intelligence.” In this book, Banks uses a fictional utopian perspective to depict a society run by advanced technology.
Musk also raised the question of how people can find meaning in life in a future without jobs.
“The real question will be a question of meaning — if computers and robots can do anything better than you, will your life have meaning?” He said, “I really think humans might still have a role in this because we might give meaning to artificial intelligence.”