KI: This is what Elon Musk, Bill Gates & Co. say about a future without work
Ahmed Riaz
Elon Musk said AI could create a future where all of humanity is prosperous. Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have less radical ideas about the future.Getty Images and AP Photo
What if AI not only changes the future of work, but abolishes it entirely?
Elon Musk has called this possible future “universal high income.”
Musk isn’t the only name in tech thinking about how different work might be in a post-AI world.
Is this heaven? No, this is the AI future – at least the one in which we aren’t all dead.
Wall Street has spent most of 2025 worrying about the AI bubble, but increasingly people in and around Big Tech and AI are discussing a scenario in which their wildest dreams have become reality.
In this future, work itself is a luxury. The concept of universal basic income promoted by then-Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in 2020 would be turned on its head. Government support for the unemployed would not be necessary because everyone would be wealthy.
Read too
“Breakthrough” for China’s ChatGPT rivals: This could change the AI world
This is the future that Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Jensen Huang imagine.
A future without work? This is what the heads of the leading AI companies say:
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Elon Musk
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
Markus Schreiber/AP
Bill Gates
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Sam Altman
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
Woohae Cho/Getty Images
Jensen Huang
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File
Dario Amodei
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
World Economic Forum/Gabriel Lado
Demis Hassabis
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
Read too
Expert warns: AI makes us faster, but it undermines our self-confidence and makes us dumber
External content not available
Do you have a contentpass subscription but still don’t want to miss out on displaying external content from third-party providers? Then click on “agree” and we will integrate external content and services from selected third-party providers into our offer to improve your user experience. You can view a current list of these third parties at any time in your privacy (link to privacy). In this context, usage profiles (including based on cookie IDs) can also be created and enriched, even outside the EEA. In this case, your consent also includes the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA in accordance with Article 49 Paragraph 1 Letter a) GDPR. Further details on data processing can be found in our data protection information and privacy policy, which are available at any time in the footer of our offer. You can exercise your consent to the integration of external content at any time in the footer of our offer via the “Revocation tracking” link.
