For Elon Musk, the solution to the US’s ballooning $38.34 trillion debt is one: the explosive productivity gains that artificial intelligence and robotics will bring.

In a conversation with investor Nihil Kamath, Musk said that “AI is essentially the only way” to get the US economy out of the debt crisis, even predicting that the process will be accompanied by “significant deflation”.

A future where work is optional

The Tesla and X founder noted that AI has yet to raise productivity above inflation – “but that’s changing soon.”
In three years, he estimates that production of goods and services will outpace price growth.

Over the next two decades, technological advances will bring society “to the point where work is optional,” leading to a regime he calls “universal high income” – an era of hyperproductivity where basic needs are met without human labor.

This perspective is reminiscent of historical predictions of technology-driven prosperity; as early as 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted a 15-hour work week thanks to progress.