Today at FII Institute ‘s FII8 in Riyadh, we witnessed perhaps the most consequential dialogue of our time between Elon Musk and Peter Diamandis – a conversation that unveiled an unprecedented vision of our economic future, where traditional capital transforms into something entirely new.
Much like how we’ve tracked the evolution of trust through innovations – from plastics to social media – we’re now standing at the precipice of the most transformative economic shift in human history. Musk began by discussing their supercomputer initiative, revealing they possess the world’s largest GPU cluster, with plans to double its capacity. This isn’t merely about computational power; it’s about laying the foundation for artificial general intelligence.
This vision isn’t confined to a single entity. Much as electricity and airlines became fundamental infrastructure for nations, Musk envisions every country maintaining their own AI clusters – a new form of essential national capital.
The economic implications are staggering. By 2040, Musk projects humanoid robots will outnumber humans, with 10 billion units capable of performing our physical tasks. At $20,000-25,000 per unit, we’re looking at a transformation that transcends universal basic income, leading us toward universal high income – an era of abundance that challenges our current economic frameworks.
The mathematics are mind-bending: a $200 trillion economic potential, dwarfing the current U.S. GDP of $30 trillion. This isn’t just economic growth; it’s the birth of an entirely new economic paradigm that our traditional capitalist models struggle to comprehend.
And while SpaceX plans its Mars mission in 27 months, with human settlement projected by 2030, these ambitious space ventures almost pale in comparison to the economic revolution AI promises to unleash.
Like our experience with plastics and social media, we’re seeing the shimmering potential first. But unlike those previous innovations, we have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to proactively shape this transformation. The AI capital era isn’t just another industrial revolution; it’s potentially the final economic transformation that could redefine the very concept of money, wealth and capital.
What does that future of abundance mean to you?