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On October 23, 2026, Musk offered the judgment that future human work will most likely become gardening. The relevant interview content was subsequently disclosed in reports on October 25 and 26: Musk reasoned that what AI will truly strike at is the dignity humans have bound to "usefulness" for thousands of years—all practical skills that can be standardized will be replaced by algorithms and robotic arms, while the least efficient and most time-consuming things will instead become spiritual luxuries. In the Isaacson interview, when responding to "what is the meaning after AI comprehensively surpasses humans," he said humans will ultimately become people growing vegetables in their backyards; machines can complete any specific skill at lower cost and faster speed, and usefulness will accordingly depreciate; he said humanity will undergo a "civilization-level forced retirement," with art and labor detached from utility and returning to pure play of the mind. Regarding the ownership of art, Musk stated that machine technique can instantly defeat everyone, but human creation is to confirm in the clumsy process that one is truly alive. At present, this judgment remains an opinion expressed in the interview, with no further factual developments.
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Musk: After AI Fully Surpasses Humans, Humans Will Retreat to Being Backyard Vegetable GrowersDevelopments
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- Source:Ayi AI Notes
Reports and discussion timeline
Browse reports and discussion by time. Their evidence levels remain distinct.
Oct 26
AYi AI Notes
Musk: After AI Fully Surpasses Humans, Humans Will Retreat to Being Backyard Vegetable Growers
In Isaacson's latest interview, Musk responded to the question "What is the meaning once AI fully surpasses humans?" by saying that humans will ultimately become people growing vegetables in their backyards: machines can complete any specific skill at lower cost and faster speed, and usefulness will depreciate accordingly. He said humanity will undergo a "civilization-level forced retirement," in which art and labor detach from utility and return to pure play of the mind. When Isaacson pressed him on where art belongs, Musk said machine technique can instantly surpass everyone, but human creation is about confirming in the clumsy process that one is truly alive.
Oct 25
Ayi AI Notes
Musk: What AI destroys is the dignity of usefulness; work will become gardening
In a recent interview, Musk reasoned that what AI truly shatters is not jobs, but the dignity humanity has tied to usefulness for thousands of years; in the future, human work will most likely become entirely gardening. He believes that all practical skills that can be standardized will be taken over by algorithms and robotic arms, and that the least efficient and most time-consuming things will instead become spiritual luxuries.
Oct 23
Ayi AI Notes
Musk: After AI takes over work, human work will become gardening
In a recent interview, Musk proposed that once AI and embodied intelligence fully surpass humans in productivity, the definition of labor will be shattered, humanity will collectively enter a state of forced retirement, and work will most likely become gardening. He believes that all practical work will be devoured by automation, while inefficient, clumsy, non-standard actions such as handwriting letters and baking bread by hand will become the last luxuries in human spiritual life. From this he raises a question: after stripping away the social identity earned by working for a wage, what does a person rely on to make themselves feel happy?