WASHINGTON DC: Elon Musk has predicted that artificial intelligence could usher in an age of abundance where people enjoy significantly higher incomes and access to advanced healthcare, even as AI and robotics transform the nature of work.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief made the comments after attending a meeting of technology leaders at the White House, where executives from some of the world’s biggest technology companies discussed the future development and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Musk said he believes the long-term impact of AI could be overwhelmingly beneficial to humanity, arguing that the combination of advanced artificial intelligence, robotics and superintelligence could dramatically increase productivity and access to goods and services.

I think by far the most likely outcome is an age of abundance where we don’t have just universal basic income, we have universal high income, Musk said, according to the report.

His comments come amid growing debate over the effect of artificial intelligence on employment, wages and the future structure of the global economy.

Musk also pointed to healthcare as one area where advances in AI and robotics could produce major changes.

He argued that the development of highly capable robots and artificial intelligence could eventually give people access to medical care that is significantly better than what is available today.

When you have robots, and you have superintelligence, it means that everyone in the world can have better medical care than anyone here, including me, Musk said.

He described such a possibility as a “wonderful” outcome, suggesting that technological advances could make sophisticated healthcare more widely available rather than limiting it to wealthy individuals or developed economies.

Musk’s prediction reflects his broader view that automation could substantially reduce the cost of producing goods and delivering services.

While Musk expressed optimism about AI’s long-term economic potential, he acknowledged that the technology is likely to dramatically alter employment.

Asked about concerns that artificial intelligence could destroy jobs, Musk said jobs are going to change, while arguing that major technological changes have historically transformed employment.

He compared the coming changes to the evolution of computing, noting that people once worked as “computers” performing calculations that are now handled by digital machines.

Musk questioned whether there is widespread demand to return to performing such calculations manually, using the example to illustrate his argument that technological progress can eliminate certain jobs while creating entirely different forms of work.

He also pointed to current labour demand as evidence that AI has not yet produced a dramatic rise in unemployment.

According to Musk, there remains tremendous demand for people, although the skills and responsibilities required in many occupations could change as AI becomes more capable.

One of the most striking aspects of Musk’s comments was his prediction that AI could eventually produce an economy in which high incomes become widely available.

Rather than simply providing a basic income to people displaced by automation, Musk has previously advocated the concept of universal high income, under which people could receive substantial financial support as AI and automation increase productivity.

He has argued that technological advances could push production costs so low that goods and services become increasingly abundant.

Musk has previously suggested that government payments could become a mechanism for dealing with employment disruption caused by AI.

In an earlier post on X, he argued that universal high income through government-issued payments could help address unemployment caused by artificial intelligence.

Musk’s comments came as several leading technology executives participated in discussions about the safe and responsible development of advanced AI.

The report said Musk joined Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI executive Greg Brockman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in signing a Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities.

The technology leaders reportedly pledged to establish robust internal controls around the development of advanced AI systems.

The commitment includes oversight mechanisms involving dedicated internal teams, independent external auditors or evaluators and independent board committees.

The agreement comes amid renewed debate about the potential risks associated with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems.

Despite his optimistic prediction about AI creating widespread prosperity, Musk has also repeatedly warned that the technology carries serious risks.

The billionaire entrepreneur has previously said the possibility of AI and robots going catastrophically wrong is not zero.

He has also described the transition towards an AI-driven economy as potentially “bumpy,” even while maintaining that the eventual outcome could be highly beneficial.

That combination of optimism and caution has been a recurring feature of Musk’s public comments on artificial intelligence.

On one hand, he predicts an economy of abundance in which advanced machines could dramatically increase production and improve healthcare. On the other, he has warned that society will have to navigate significant disruption as machines take over tasks traditionally performed by humans.

Beyond employment and income, Musk has also raised questions about what happens to human purpose if machines eventually perform most economically valuable tasks.

If AI and robotics make it possible for people to obtain virtually everything they need without traditional employment, Musk has suggested that society could face a different challenge: determining what gives people’s lives meaning when work is no longer necessary for survival.

He has previously imagined a future in which technological advances make goods and services extremely inexpensive and potentially abundant.

The transition, however, could force governments, businesses and societies to rethink how income is distributed and how people participate in economic life.

Musk’s latest comments add to an increasingly broad debate among technology leaders, economists and policymakers over how artificial intelligence will reshape the global workforce.

Some technology executives have focused on the potential productivity gains from AI, while others have warned that rapid automation could increase inequality or eliminate large numbers of jobs if workers are unable to transition into new roles.

For Musk, the central argument is that technological progress does not necessarily mean a poorer future for workers.

Instead, he believes increasingly capable AI systems and robots could generate such high levels of productivity that society eventually moves beyond today’s traditional relationship between employment and income.

Whether that vision becomes reality will depend on how quickly AI develops, how businesses deploy the technology, how governments respond to labour-market changes and how the economic gains from automation are distributed.

For now, Musk’s prediction presents one of the most optimistic visions of the AI future: a world in which technological abundance could mean higher incomes, improved healthcare and greater access to goods and services, even as traditional jobs undergo profound change.