Elon Musk predicts AI will outpace human intelligence within five years

In a recent interview with The Economist, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, said he expects artificial‑intelligence systems to surpass the combined intelligence of all humans in roughly five years. He added that within a decade AI could perform virtually every intellectual task, leaving most jobs optional. Musk described the likely outcome as an "era of amazing abundance" where money loses significance and advocates for universal high‑income payments to offset wealth redistribution. He also urged leading AI labs to conduct peer‑reviews of each other's most advanced models before public release, describing competitors as "guardians of shared responsibility." While optimistic, Musk acknowledged a non‑zero risk of catastrophic outcomes and warned that large‑scale geopolitical events such as a global thermonuclear war could derail the trajectory. The interview marked a shift from his earlier warnings about AI risks to a more hopeful outlook on its economic impact.