Inside the 115,000-square-meter Gigafactory in Texas, Elon Musk engaged in a hours-long in-depth conversation with entrepreneur Peter Diamandis. From artificial intelligence (AI) and the US-China tech race to future energy and education reforms, Musk offered a series of seemingly crazy yet increasingly plausible predictions. He described AI and robots as a "supersonic tsunami," stating bluntly, "We are living in the era of singularity."
Is the end of the world for white-collar workers? Will AI replace half of mental work?
Musk pointed out that AI already has the ability to replace more than half of white-collar jobs. Positions that require "hands-on" work, including education, administration, accounting, and word processing, are in grave danger. He emphasized, "Any job that merely changes information and doesn't involve the physical world will be the first to be replaced by AI."
Despite the "bumpy" nature of the transformation, he believes it will lead to a future where "everything is available," and proposes the concept of "Universal High Income (UHI)," which is not achieved through taxation and redistribution, but through extreme technological efficiency that makes goods and services extremely cheap.
The US-China AI Race: China Far Surpasses the US in Computing Power and Solar Energy
When discussing global technological competition, Musk bluntly stated, "China has already circled around the United States in terms of AI computing power and solar energy production capacity."
He pointed out that China can produce 1,500 GW of solar power equipment annually, and added 500 TWh (terawatt-hours) of electricity last year alone, 70% of which came from solar energy. In contrast, the United States is lagging behind in the fields of AI and energy due to a lack of policy determination and long-term planning.
Musk predicts that if the United States does not actively develop AI and automation, it will face a double blow of fiscal collapse and a decline in global competitiveness.
The Future of Energy: Solar Energy is the "Cosmic Solution"
Musk is not optimistic about terrestrial nuclear fusion power generation, stating bluntly that Earth already has a "free super nuclear fusion reactor," which is the sun.
He proposed an ambitious plan: to deploy AI satellites in space to achieve 100 GW of orbital solar power generation annually, and even move the production line to the moon to launch satellites using mass-driven propulsion systems, with the ultimate goal of "capturing one-thousandth of the sun's energy." While this sounds like science fiction, Musk stated firmly: "The currency of the future will be the watt."
Educational Transformation: AI Will Replace Traditional Classrooms and "Assembly-Line Learning"
Musk is critical of the traditional education system. He believes that the current education system is like a factory production line, "failing to stimulate students' curiosity or truly personalize teaching."
He is working with the president of El Salvador in Central America to promote personalized learning programs based on Grok AI, enabling every child to have an "AI tutor with unlimited patience." He also encourages young people not to waste time on graduate school, but to directly engage in entrepreneurship and hands-on work: "The barrier to entry for entrepreneurship is now so low that almost anyone can do it."
Human lifespan is about to double? Musk's attitude towards longevity is changing.
In the interview, Peter attempted to persuade Musk to support plans to extend human lifespan, including using the Yamanaka factor for gene reprogramming and launching the Healthspan XPrize program.
Initially, Musk believed that "people need death to update their thinking," but he also acknowledged the rapid progress in longevity technology, especially the fact that "different parts of the body can age synchronously," suggesting that the "death program" might be crackable. He surprisingly stated, "Longevity or semi-immortality is actually a fairly easy problem to solve."
Will we be the first "space citizens"? Musk still believes in his Martian dream.
Beyond AI and energy, Musk still harbors the ultimate dream of "interstellar migration." He expressed his hope to live long enough to witness humanity's journey to other star systems. He even envisioned: "When we can effectively control solar energy, we will have reached the Kardashev Type II civilization, capable of utilizing the energy of an entire star."
Towards Star Trek or Terminator? The decision will be made within these 7 years.
Musk doesn't shy away from acknowledging that the next seven years will be a crucial turning point. He posed a thought-provoking question: "Are we heading towards StarCraft or Terminator?"
He is full of hope for the future, but he doesn't shy away from acknowledging that the road ahead will be far from smooth. His message to the audience was: "If we can cultivate AI's curiosity and aesthetic sense, it will be humanity's greatest companion."
This article, originally published by ABMedia , predicts that Musk will witness a "supersonic tsunami" of AI in the next 7 years: half of white-collar jobs will disappear, and the key to the US-China competition lies in computing power and energy .
