Elon Musk Claims AI Will Soon 'Replace All Jobs,' Making Work 'Optional' Worldwide

5/5 - (2 votes)

Elon Musk: AI Will Replace All Jobs, Making Work ‘Optional’ – What’s Next?

Elon Musk: In response to a New York Times report claiming Amazon is looking to replace about 600,000 jobs with robots and artificial intelligence (AI), Tesla CEO Elon Musk asserted that, “AI and robots will replace all jobs.”

Musk was responding to an X user who commented on the Times article, saying, “It’s insane to think that a human will pack and ship boxes in ten years — it’s game over folks.” The CEO’s response did not end with AI replacing our jobs, though. Musk further claims that “working will be optional, like growing your own vegetables, instead of buying them from the store.” This vision suggests a massive societal shift where essential labor is automated.

The American Bazaar online reported on the response to the New York Times article, which highlighted documents and interviews suggesting that the e-commerce giant is working to automate 75% of its operations. Intriguingly, the report noted the company encourages employees to avoid words like “automation” and “AI.” Amazon, however, refuted the report, stating it is not representative of their overall hiring policies.

HVAC Technician Salary 2025: UK vs. USA—Which Path Offers More?

Musk’s definitive response is unsurprising, as he has consistently made bold statements about the future impact of technology. In the past, he has claimed that AI will significantly raise the standard of living. Telling Ted Cruz in a prior interview that “Goods and services will become close to free. It’s not as though people will be wanting in terms of goods and services. You have tens of billions of robots that will make you anything or provide any service you want for basically next to nothing.”

In his vision of a world with little to no jobs for the average person, it is currently unclear how Musk envisions people affording that “basically next to nothing” without a universal income structure. Musk appears to be genuine in his belief about goods and services costing less in the future, but he seems to be agreeing with the increasingly popular notion of an “AI dividend.” Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discussed this idea in detail earlier this year, suggesting that AI is made possible through societal investments. Therefore, if AI is to replace jobs, society should receive a financial dividend from those corporate profits, spread across citizens to benefit all.

AI’s Societal and Environmental Concerns

Not all attitudes about AI and the rise of robots are so positive. With over 7.4 million people unemployed in the United States alone as of August, the immediate prospect of losing even more jobs to technology is frightening to many workers. Even the so-called “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton, has expressed significant concern, stating that this shift “will make a few people much richer and most people poorer.”

In addition to the employment impact, these burgeoning technologies use a tremendous amount of energy. This contributes to rising electricity costs, air pollution, and rising global temperatures. Furthermore, AI data processing centers use exorbitant amounts of water for cooling, raising environmental and sustainability concerns, especially in water-stressed regions like parts of India.

Some X users were quick to disagree with Musk online. One user said, “I’m sorry, but basic human nature reveals that when people no longer have a purpose (most people feel they have some degree of purpose through their careers) that laziness, anger and despair will set in in short order. It seems like a good idea, but will backfire over time.” Another user said, “And there will be massive unemployment during the transition period,” while even more responded with clips from dystopian movies and memes about universal control. Others tried to be more optimistic. “The sooner we accept this reality,” one wrote, “the better we can manage the transition.”

FAQs

What is Elon Musk’s claim about AI and jobs?
Musk claims that AI and robots will soon replace all jobs, making human work essentially optional worldwide. He suggests that goods and services will become close to free, raising the standard of living significantly.
Which company sparked Musk’s recent comment?
Musk’s comment was a response to a New York Times report suggesting Amazon is working to automate 75% of its operations and potentially replace about 600,000 jobs with AI and robotics.
What is the “AI dividend” concept?
The “AI dividend” suggests that since AI is built on societal investments, the profits generated by AI replacing human jobs should be financially distributed to citizens to benefit the wider society.

How to Become an HVAC Technician – Step-by-Step Guide