New Delhi: The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has set off a frenzy online after a series of audacious predictions during a free-wheeling conversation with billionaire Nikhil Kamath on his podcast on 30 November. On the Zerodha co-founder’s People by WTF podcast, Musk sketched a future where labour fades out, money loses meaning, nation-states dissolve, and universities survive mainly as status symbols. From limitless energy to apocalypse-level warnings on AI and fertility, the Tesla chief offered a sweeping and often unsettling vision of what lies ahead.
Here are the five headlines from Musk’s interview.
Work to become optional
Musk predicted that advancements in AI and robotics could make work unnecessary — instead, jobs might turn into hobbies as automation takes over much of the labour.
“I’m confident that if AI and robotics continue to advance and they are advancing very fast, working will be optional, and people will have any goods and services they want,” Musk told Kamath, predicting a utopian automation-based future.
Energy to become the new ‘hard currency’
Musk speculates that in the long run, currency might disappear altogether.
“The progress of civilisation actually depends on the control and utilisation efficiency of energy, which corresponds to the Kardashev scale: from planetary energy (Type I) to stellar energy (Type II), and then to galactic energy (Type III),” Musk said.
He also said that humans will be able to harness unlimited energy once we have solar-powered AI satellites in Earth’s orbit.
All of this will eliminate the concept of a nation-state.
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Don’t mess with powerful technology
While Musk is optimistic about AI and robotics, he also warned that powerful technology can be dangerous if misused. He emphasised that AI development must be grounded in what he called “truth, beauty, and curiosity,” to avoid dystopian outcomes.
Musk said that AI could go crazy if lied to.
On declining fertility
Musk has been a long-time proponent of re-incentivising people to have children, and has repeatedly warned of population decline.
“If this trend continues, humanity will face an existential crisis,” he said about declining global fertility rates.
“Population growth means the expansion of collective consciousness, which can enhance our ability to understand the essence of the universe. Conversely, population shrinkage will lead to a reduction in the total amount of consciousness. If we stop reproducing, civilisation will eventually come to an end,” he said.
Starlink in India
Musk said that Starlink will be able to replace urban 5G networks. “The core of the Starlink system consists of thousands of satellites orbiting in a low-Earth orbit about 550 kilometres above the Earth. They fly around the Earth at extremely high speeds, thus achieving a much lower communication delay than traditional high-orbit satellites,” he explained the technology.
Musk indicated his intention to start Starlink in India soon to provide low-cost internet.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)