I. Musk Claims AI Will Create High Incomes for All

According to a report from Cailian Press, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, stated on Wednesday that although the upcoming “accounts” initiative (a certain program) is a commendable move, he believes that in the future, when “high incomes for all” become the mainstream, saving money will no longer be necessary.

Musk made this statement in response to a post by Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and a renowned investment guru. Dalio announced on the social platform X that he would follow in the footsteps of Michael and Susan Dell and donate start-up funds for the “accounts” program.

At the same event, the Dell couple announced a donation of $6.25 billion to facilitate the implementation of these accounts, injecting initial funds into the accounts of 25 million eligible children. “The Dell couple’s move is undoubtedly a benevolent act, but in the future, there will be no more poverty, so saving money will lose its significance. Eventually, an era of high incomes for all will arrive,” Musk posted on his social platform X.

Musk has expressed on multiple occasions that he believes artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics will eliminate poverty and the need for work, creating a universal high-income level. In May last year, during his speech at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, when asked whether he was worried about his job being taken over by AI, he said that the most likely outcome was that AI and robotics would eliminate the necessity of work.

“In an ideal scenario, perhaps none of us will need to work anymore. In the future, there will be ‘high incomes for all’ – not ‘universal basic income’, but ‘universal high income’. There will be no shortage of goods and services,” he claimed.

II. Is the Era of Not Saving Money Really Upon Us?

Recently, Musk’s highly topical view that “AI will create high incomes for all” has instantly sparked widespread attention and heated discussions across society. Does Musk’s claim hold water? How should we view it?

Firstly, AI can indeed significantly boost productivity. As is well known, according to the familiar principles of political economy, income is actually determined by the labor theory of value. Labor creates value, and income is a cost paid to measure the value of labor. Based on this theory, Musk’s assertion that “AI will create high incomes for all” is not groundless but is rooted in the reality that AI is profoundly reshaping production methods and wealth distribution logic.

Currently, AI is no longer limited to aiding decision-making or optimizing processes but is gradually acquiring the ability to autonomously perform complex tasks and even engage in creative work. From autonomous driving to intelligent customer service, from medical diagnosis to financial modeling, AI is rapidly replacing human roles in traditional jobs. Once AI systems achieve fully autonomous operation and can continuously, efficiently, and cost-effectively provide goods and services, they can theoretically become new “laborers”,constantly and inexhaustibly creating social wealth.

In this scenario, humans may no longer need to exchange their labor for income but can directly share the surplus value created by AI systems as members of society. This vision is essentially a technologically optimistic expression of a “post-scarcity society”. When productivity is sufficiently developed and material abundance is extreme, the significance of currency and savings will naturally diminish. Therefore, Musk’s argument has a certain degree of logical self-consistency, especially in the context of an approaching technological singularity.

Secondly, the wealth generated by robotic labor is not straightforward. From the perspective of the labor theory of value, defining the labor created by AI and the wealth it brings is a key issue that current economics must address. The labor theory of value holds that the value of a commodity is determined by the socially necessary labor time required for its production. However, AI labor is fundamentally different from human labor. It does not need to create value by consuming physical and mental energy like humans do, as its operation is based on algorithms and data. This poses a challenge for the traditional labor theory of value in explaining the wealth creation by AI.

However, when viewed from the perspective of Western economics, in the short term, both the research and development (R&D) and operation and maintenance of robots require significant cost inputs. Developing an advanced intelligent robot entails investing a large amount of human, material, and financial resources in technological R&D, algorithm optimization, and testing and verification. Moreover, with continuous technological updates and upgrades, robots also require ongoing maintenance and upgrades to ensure stable and improved performance. The existence of these costs makes the idea of creating high incomes for all just a beautiful vision in the short term.

Even if AI can create a large amount of wealth, the distribution of this wealth is also a complex issue. In a market economy environment, wealth distribution is often influenced by multiple factors, such as capital ownership and technological monopolies. If wealth is unevenly distributed, even if the total social wealth increases, it will be difficult to achieve the goal of high incomes for all. Therefore, to realize Musk’s envisioned scenario of high incomes for all, not only does the issue of defining the wealth created by AI need to be resolved, but a fair and reasonable wealth distribution mechanism also needs to be established, which may be even more challenging than the technological aspects.

Thirdly, the substantial creation of long-term wealth is possible. From a long-term development perspective, when AI technology reaches an extremely mature stage and human utilization of technology and energy enters a higher level of civilization, the goals of high incomes for all and labor liberation have a realistic foundation for realization. The ultimate direction of technological progress is to serve the all-round development of humanity. When AI can fully undertake various arduous, dangerous, and repetitive tasks, humans will be liberated from survival-oriented labor and can focus on creative, experiential, and spiritual activities.

The core prerequisite for this stage is the coordinated breakthrough of technology and energy technology: on the one hand, AI technology achieves true general intelligence and can autonomously adapt to various complex production scenarios. On the other hand, the maturity of clean energy technology can provide unlimited energy support for the large-scale application of AI, breaking the constraints of resource limitations on wealth creation. At this point, wealth creation will enter a new stage of “zero marginal cost”, and the total social wealth will be sufficient to support the demand for high incomes for all.

Meanwhile, with the elevation of human civilization, the social value orientation will shift from “labor supremacy” to “existence value supremacy”. Wealth distribution will be more based on the basic rights of social members rather than labor contributions, providing institutional and ideological guarantees for the realization of high incomes for all. Humans will no longer worry about the material wealth needed for survival, and the necessity of saving money as a means to cope with future risks will also be greatly reduced.

Fourthly, what Musk said is just a beautiful imagination. From the short-term actual situation, everyone still needs to work hard and earn money. Although the development of AI has brought us many conveniences and opportunities, at this stage, it cannot completely replace human labor. Many industries still require human expertise, skills, and creativity.

Moreover, the current economic system and social structure also determine that income is closely related to an individual’s efforts and contributions. Only through continuous struggle and continuous improvement of one’s abilities and qualities can one stand out in the fierce market competition. However, we should not overlook the power of technological progress. With the continuous development and improvement of AI and other technologies, perhaps one day, an era of highly developed labor will truly arrive, when people can live a prosperous and beautiful life even without engaging in much labor.