Artificial intelligence (AI) could become more intelligent than the combined capabilities of all humans within the next five years, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has predicted, while warning that the technology’s rapid advancement may be impossible to halt.
Speaking in an interview with The Economist published on Thursday, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive said AI was on course to outperform humans in virtually every field, except the uniquely human experience.
Musk projected that the continued evolution of AI would most likely usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity rather than catastrophe, making it possible for people to access solutions to almost any material need.
“I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in around five years. There really won’t be anything that AI can’t do better than humans, apart from being human, perhaps,” he said.
“The most likely outcome is an age of amazing abundance, where anyone can have anything they can think of. This may sound preposterous, but here we are in 2026, let’s see where we stand in 2036.”
The world’s richest man said the momentum behind AI development had grown beyond the control of any individual or organisation, including himself, describing its progress as “inexorable.”
Although Musk has repeatedly warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence in the past, he acknowledged that the technology’s advance is now unstoppable and urged society to focus on managing its risks.
“I still think there’s risk associated with AI and robots. It’s not zero. I guess I’ve come to my philosophical conclusion to look on the bright side. I can’t see any way to really stop this incredible momentum of AI and robots,” he said.
“Let’s enjoy the ride is my philosophy at this point, because there seems to be just an inexorable progress here in AI and in robots that even if I wanted to stop it, I don’t, I couldn’t.
Responding to a question on whether he still believed AI had a 10 to 20 per cent chance of causing human extinction, Musk said the possibility remained, although his outlook had become more optimistic.
He also renewed calls for stronger industry collaboration on AI safety, urging leading AI companies to hold weekly or bi-weekly meetings to review advanced models before they are released.
According to Musk, rival firms are better positioned than governments to identify potential security risks posed by emerging AI systems.
“The competitors can keep each other honest,” he said, adding that the industry should move quickly because of the extraordinary pace of innovation.
“There are so many AI breakthrough announcements, sometimes multiple per day,” he noted.
However, Musk’s prediction has drawn scepticism from some AI experts, who argue that despite rapid advances, current AI systems still lack a genuine understanding of the world and are far from replicating the full complexity of human intelligence.
