Amazon founder Jeff Bezos makes scary prediction about the future of human life

For the world’s billionaires, Earth has long since become too small. From Elon Musk and his obsession with space travel to Jeff Bezos’s belief that artificial intelligence will usher in utopian new worlds, the richest minds seem increasingly focused on what lies beyond our planet.

On stage at Italian Tech Week, the Amazon founder shared his vision of the future, predicting that by 2045 robots will be doing most of the work. Commuting, he suggested, will be a thing of the past — and instead of thinking about where we’ll live on Earth, we’ll be considering which planet to explore next.

“In the next two decades, I think there will be millions of people living in space,” Bezos said. “That’s how fast this is going to accelerate.”

He went on to clarify that this mass migration wouldn’t be out of necessity. “We don’t need people to live in space; they’ll mostly do it because they want to,” he explained. “If any work needs to be done on the Moon or elsewhere, we’ll send robots — it’ll be far more cost-effective than sending humans.”

Bezos isn’t alone in his cosmic optimism. Both Sam Altman and Elon Musk have made similar predictions about humanity’s future beyond Earth.

OpenAI founder Altman believes that within ten years, college graduates will have “completely new, exciting, and super-well-paying jobs” in space. He even admits to feeling jealous of younger generations, saying that what seemed groundbreaking early in his career will soon look “boring” and “old-fashioned” next to what’s coming.

Elon Musk, meanwhile — one of the planet’s richest and most vocal futurists — predicts that humans will reach Mars by around 2028, with unmanned SpaceX rockets set to begin launching as early as next year.

Bill Gates, however, takes a more grounded approach. “Space? We have a lot to do here on Earth,” the Microsoft co-founder said in a recent interview. He argues that humanity should focus its vast resources on solving problems at home rather than seeking new worlds to conquer.

Related stories

Technology

Fixing Snapchat issues

Technology

What we know about the Amazon outage

Even so, Gates admits that artificial intelligence could spark a new era — one where machines handle most of the labor and the standard workweek shrinks to just two days, leaving people free to enjoy their time.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.