Elon Musk on job fulfillment in an AI world: ‘How do we find meaning in life if AI can do your job better?’
The billionaire SpaceX founder said thinking about AI taking over jobs could be dispiriting
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Elon Musk issued some advice Tuesday about the future of work in a world dominated by artificial intelligence.
Speaking in a sit-down interview with CNBC, the billionaire addressed his children when asked about how the next generation might find value in such a space.
"I would just say, you know, to sort of follow their heart in terms of what they find interesting to do, or fulfilling to do," he said. "And try to be as useful as possible to the rest of society."
Should the world get to what the SpaceX founder calls a "magic genie situation" – where a person can ask the AI for anything – he still has questions.
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Elon Musk holds one of his children as he watches a Red Bull racing crew during practice for the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File / AP Newsroom)
"Let's say it's a benign scenario: How do we actually find fulfillment? How do we find meaning in life if the AI can do your job better than you can?" Musk wondered.
He admitted that thinking about the topic too much could be dispiriting or demotivating.
"Because, I mean, I go through – I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building the companies, and then I'm like, ‘Wait, well, should I be doing this?’ Because, if I'm sacrificing time with friends and family that I would prefer – but then, ultimately, the AI can do all these things," Musk admitted. "Does that make sense? I don't know."
The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen which displays the ChatGPT home Screen, on March 17, 2023, in Boston, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File / AP Newsroom)
"To some extent, I have to have deliberate suspension of disbelief in order to remain motivated," the Twitter chief conceded. "So, I guess I would say just, you know, work on things that you find interesting and fulfilling, and that contribute some good to the rest of society."
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In the same interview, Musk said he is "the reason that OpenAI exists," and that he was a "huge idiot" regarding whether he should have had a larger stake in the startup. Musk was an early supporter of OpenAI, which released popular AI chatbot ChatGPT and has partnered with Microsoft.
Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of OpenAI, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While Musk has his own stake in the industry – he reportedly launched his own artificial intelligence company, X.AI, earlier this year – he was also one of the signatories of a letter that called for a six-month pause on AI development of systems more powerful than OpenAI's GPT-4.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has disagreed with that letter, saying it wasn't the right way to address concerns. This comes as AI gurus like Ben Goertzel and Geoffrey Hinton have given interviews regarding the tech and job replacement.