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Elon Musk’s Jobless Utopia
Imagine a future where the daily grind of a 9-to-5 job is a distant memory, where robots and artificial intelligence (AI) handle every task imaginable, from mundane chores to complex problem-solving. This is not a scene from a science fiction novel, but a vision articulated by Elon Musk during his recent speech at the VivaTech 2024 conference in Paris.
“Probably none of us will have a job,” Musk declared, painting a picture of a world where employment is no longer a necessity but an option. He envisages a society where AI and robots provide all the goods and services we need, freeing humans from the shackles of labor. This radical shift, according to Musk, could lead to a paradigm where work becomes more of a hobby than a means of survival.
Universal High Income: A New Economic Model
To address the inevitable question of financial stability in a jobless world, Musk introduced the concept of a “universal high income.” Unlike the Universal Basic Income (UBI) that has been experimented with in countries like Finland, this new model aims to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need, regardless of employment status. While Musk did not delve into the specifics of how this income would be generated or distributed, the idea is to create a safety net that guarantees no shortage of goods or services for anyone.
