Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has predicted that artificial intelligence could become more intelligent than the combined capabilities of all humans within the next five years, while warning that the technology’s rapid advancement is unlikely to be stopped.
Musk made the remarks in an interview with The Economist published on Thursday, where he said AI would eventually outperform humans in almost every discipline, except for the uniquely human experience.
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“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,” Musk said.
The billionaire entrepreneur argued that the most likely outcome of increasingly capable AI would be an era of unprecedented abundance, with technology enabling people to meet almost any material need.
“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,” he added.
Despite his optimism, Musk acknowledged that artificial intelligence and advanced robotics still pose significant risks.
However, he said the pace of development has reached a point where neither individuals nor organisations can realistically halt its progress.
“I still think there’s risk associated with AI and robots. It’s not zero. 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.
Musk added that his current philosophy was to “enjoy the ride”, saying the momentum behind AI innovation appeared inexorable.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief also renewed his call for greater cooperation among leading AI developers, proposing regular meetings where rival companies could evaluate new models before they are released.
“The competitors can keep each other honest,” Musk said, arguing that companies developing frontier AI systems are often better positioned than governments to assess emerging security risks.
He urged the industry to establish such mechanisms quickly, noting that the rapid pace of AI breakthroughs leaves little room for delay.
Musk has been one of the most prominent voices in the debate over artificial intelligence.
In 2023, he joined technology leaders and researchers in calling for a temporary pause in the development of the most powerful AI systems, citing concerns over safety and governance.
Since then, he has launched xAI, his own artificial intelligence company, while continuing to advocate stronger safeguards for advanced AI.
His latest prediction, however, has drawn scepticism from some AI researchers, who argue that today’s large language models remain far from replicating the full complexity of human reasoning, consciousness and general intelligence.
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Many experts contend that although AI capabilities continue to improve rapidly, forecasting when artificial general intelligence will emerge remains highly uncertain.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
