Elon Musk Predicts Money May Be Useless by 2036

During an interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, Elon Musk stated that by 2036, money may become obsolete as AI and robots could produce more goods and services than humans can consume. Musk proposed that governments could financially support citizens during this transition by issuing direct payments, suggesting that national treasuries should "simply issue people checks." He argued that if AI significantly increases the supply of goods and services, the traditional relationship between money supply and inflation would change, predicting that deflation would become the primary economic challenge rather than inflation.

Musk expressed his conflicted feelings about AI, oscillating between excitement and fear, and reiterated his belief that AI could surpass human intelligence within five years. He acknowledged concerns about job losses and inequality but emphasized the need for global efforts to ensure the safe development of AI technology.