Elon Musk says AI means eventually no one will need to work

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk chatted about AI at the close of the UK's AI Safety Summit.
Musk said advances in AI will lead to a world where "no job is needed."
Musk also suggested we'll have "universal high income" instead of just universal basic income.

Musk said that advances in AI will simply lead to a world "where no job is needed," in a conversation with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the close of the UK's inaugural AI Safety Summit on Thursday. Of course, people can still hold a job "for personal satisfaction," but one day, AI "will be able to do everything," Musk said.

And how exactly will people support themselves in this new, AI-powered world?

"You'll have universal high income," Musk told Sunak, presenting it as a superior alternative to universal basic income — one of Silicon Valley's dream solutions to income inequality — without specifying exactly how the two concepts differed.

"You'll rarely ask for anything," he said, outlining a "future of abundance" where there would be no scarcity of goods and services. As a result, AI will function as somewhat of an economic equalizer, he said, especially because it'll be accessible to everyone. At the same time, he suggested that there might be "somewhat of the magic genie problem," so people will need to be careful about exactly what they "wish for," he said. Musk has been outspoken about the need to regulate AI and was among the list of tech execs and AI researchers who signed an open letter calling for a pause on AI development. During his discussion Sunak, he offered solutions ranging from an "off switch" to a keyword for putting humanoid robots into a safe state.

Still, his verdict — at least at the end of Thursday conversation— was that AI is likely to be 80% good and 20% bad.