For an excellent many generations now, putting aside as much money as you possibly can on your retirement has been treated as basic – but somewhat mandatory – adult admin. In accordance with Elon Musk, nevertheless, that assumption could also be nearing its sell-by date. Speaking recently, the billionaire suggested that all the concept of saving money for later life by the use of pensions could soon be entirely obsolete. Not reformed. Not tweaked. Simply unnecessary. It is a striking claim from the world’s richest man, especially at a moment when many individuals feel further than ever from the concept of having fun with a cushty future. Musk’s argument hinges on a somewhat radical belief that technology is about to redraw the worldwide economic map almost entirely. (Picture: Getty Images)
The comments got here during an appearance on the favored Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, where Musk delivered his advice with a big dollop of his characteristic confidence. ‘One side suggestion I actually have is: Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years,’ he said. ‘It won’t matter.’ He doubled down moments later, adding: ‘If any of the things that we’ve said are true, saving for retirement might be irrelevant.’ It wasn’t framed as a thought experiment or a vague hope, either. Musk was presenting it as a logical conclusion. And seems to completely consider it… (Picture: Getty Images)
At the center of his pondering is a future powered by artificial intelligence, low-cost energy and advanced robotics. Musk believes these forces will mix to push productivity to levels that smash today’s economic models. In that world, scarcity fades and wealth becomes widely shared. He imagines a system where people receive what he calls a ‘universal high income’, somewhat than counting on things corresponding to wages or pensions. The goal, he says, is abundance. Not barely enough to get by, but enough for everybody to live well with none level of monetary anxiety by any means. (Picture: Getty Images)
Musk painted an almost sci-fi-like picture of what that abundance might seem like. ‘The nice future is anyone can have whatever stuff they need,’ he said. That features ‘higher medical care than anyone has today, available for everybody inside five years’. He also predicted ‘no scarcity of products and services’ and claimed people would have the ability to ‘learn anything you would like about anything at no cost’. On this scenario, money loses its power because access becomes universal. Retirement savings, he theorises, stop making sense when basic needs cost almost nothing. (Picture: Getty Images)
There’s a catch here though. And Musk acknowledged it himself. He warned that the trail to this high-tech utopia can be pretty ‘bumpy’, with a good amount of disruption baked in. More unsettling was his concern about meaning. ‘Now, in case you actually get all of the stuff you would like, is that really the long run you want?’ he asked. ‘Since it implies that your job won’t matter.’ Work has long shaped our identity and routine. Removing its necessity could thoroughly free people as much as make higher use of their time. Or, alternatively, it could leave them completely untethered. Musk offered no easy answer to that potential dilemma. (Picture: Getty Images)
The prediction matches in somewhat neatly with Musk’s track record as a builder of future-facing corporations. Through Tesla, he’s helped drag electric cars into the mainstream. At SpaceX, reusable rockets reshaped space travel. His businesses are also heavily into self-driving cars, humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces and AI assistants. To Musk, these sorts of projects aren’t separate things. They’re pieces of a single puzzle that is geared toward automating loads of human labour. (Picture: Getty Images)
The issue with envisioning this potential recent world is that today’s reality looks nothing like that promise in any respect. Many individuals are combating high prices, rising borrowing costs and wages that have not kept pace. For tens of millions, higher education feels unaffordable. Decent healthcare is not guaranteed. Home ownership keeps drifting further out of reach. Starting a family can look financially reckless. Against that backdrop, the concept that retirement saving is optional sounds detached at best. Surveys already show that vast numbers of individuals are nowhere near prepared for later life. (Picture: Getty Images)
That is why Musk’s comments have landed with a mixture of fascination and unease. His vision is determined by AI becoming so powerful that work becomes optional and income is effectively guaranteed. If that happens, pensions lose their purpose because survival not is determined by earnings across a lifetime. If what Musk predicts doesn’t come to pass, nevertheless, telling people to stop saving could – if heeded – be financially disastrous for a lot of. Musk is betting that artificial intelligence will create a lot shared wealth that planning for old age becomes redundant. The world’s richest man may perhaps have the ability to ignore his pension regardless of what. But can the remainder of us afford to…? (Picture: Getty Images)
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