Gen Z graduates are anxiously eyeing artificial intelligence, worried that tools like bots and automation will snatch up their first jobs before their careers even start. Elon Musk, however, imagines a very different future: By the time those fresh grads hit their forties, he believes they won’t need to work at all.
“In less than 20 years—but maybe even as little as 10 or 15 years—the advancements in AI and robotics will bring us to the point where working is optional,” Musk said yesterday on an episode of the WTFpodcast.
Tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini are already chipping away at repetitive, time-consuming tasks like data cleaning, summarizing information, and basic administrative work. One survey last year estimated that by 2029, AI could save the average worker up to 12 hours a week, effectively giving them back more than a full workday.
Podcast host Nikhil Kamath pointed out that some regions are already experimenting with shorter workweeks because of these productivity gains. But Musk thinks that’s just the beginning. Forget the four-day workweek—he argues that as AI continues to accelerate output, traditional jobs will look less like obligations and more like personal projects or hobbies you choose to pursue.
Musk doubles down on his belief that future work will be optional
This isn’t the first time the SpaceX founder—and currently the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $450 billion—has suggested that work could become a choice rather than a necessity. Just a few weeks ago at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., Musk likened working to maintaining a home garden.
He returned to that analogy again. “You can grow your own vegetables in your garden or you could go to the store and buy vegetables,” he said. “It’s much harder to grow your own vegetables. But some people like to grow their vegetables, which is fine. But it’ll be optional, in that way, is my prediction.”
If his vision comes true, not only would going into an office be unnecessary—living near one would be too. Musk suggested that people will be able to live wherever they like, including remote or rural areas, without sacrificing income or opportunity. “It won’t be the case that you have to be in a city for a job,” he said, adding that a Universal High Income would cover people’s living costs and most of what they desire.
“If you can think of it, you can have it, will be the future,” Musk added.
From Bill Gates to Eric Yuan, leaders say AI will shrink the workweek
While Musk’s predictions may sound extreme right now, he’s not the only high-profile leader who thinks AI will overhaul the traditional work schedule.
Earlier this year, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said AI could soon automate most routine tasks, leading to such big efficiency gains that employers might move toward a two-day workweek within the next decade. Similarly, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has said he expects a three-day workweek to emerge as AI reshapes how teams operate.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is the latest executive to argue that widespread AI adoption will “probably” push companies toward four-day workweeks. But fewer days in the office doesn’t necessarily translate to a lighter workload.
The $154 billion chipmaking chief executive believes AI will unleash a surge of new ideas, products, and projects—ultimately keeping people highly engaged, even if they’re technically working fewer days.
“If your life becomes more productive and if the things that you’re doing with great difficulty become simpler, it is very likely because you have so many ideas you’ll have more time to pursue things,” Huang said recently on stage at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, where he appeared alongside Musk.
