Elon Musk's net worth has increased by about $300 billion this year, even surpassing the total wealth of the second richest person, Larry Page. However, Musk suggests that with the rise of artificial intelligence and robotics technology, money itself may soon become a thing of the past.

In an interview with China National Media Group broadcast on Saturday, Musk said, "My prediction is that there will actually be a widespread increase in high incomes. In fact, I'm not sure whether money will still be important in the future."

This 55-year-old entrepreneur envisions an "era of abundance" in which humanoid robots will undertake a large amount of work and produce goods and services that will far exceed human consumption. In the world he depicts, robots can take over various tasks ranging from caring for children and teaching to looking after elderly parents, and they can operate around the clock without being limited by human labor forces.

For many years, Musk has made similar predictions, but he has also continuously postponed the timeline for this reality to arrive. He now says that by the end of the next decade at the latest, there will be one billion humanoid robots, and thereafter, their number will grow exponentially.

He said, "I think it could get quite crazy. For example, if you want a castle, the robots will build you a castle."

Robot technology holds an important place in Elon Musk's ambitious vision for Tesla and is also part of Tesla's historic $1 trillion compensation package, which includes the goal of delivering 1 million humanoid robots. However, Tesla's Optimus project faces challenges as the company develops and expands the scale of this humanoid robot.

Elon Musk's advice for Generation Z: Get a "broad education" so you can communicate better with robots

Although a world filled with millions of robots may still be several years away, Musk has offered advice to young people who are preparing for the future: do not narrow down your educational focus too early, but instead build a broad foundation of knowledge.

Elon Musk said, "My advice on education is to pursue as broad an education as possible, including arts and sciences, engineering – a wide range of general knowledge." Musk holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

He said that the reason is quite simple: as technical capabilities become stronger and stronger, how to use that technology depends to some extent on what you want it to accomplish.

Elon Musk said, "To know what to ask of robots, you need to be able to articulate your questions. By possessing as broad a range of general knowledge as possible, you can ask better questions, or what they call the 'prompt engineering'."

After the explosion of generative chatbots such as ChatGPT, "prompt engineering" became a widely discussed skill and even a career path, as users gradually realized that the way they asked questions could affect the quality and practicality of the responses from AI models. Although AI is now better at understanding natural human language, the necessity of carefully designing prompts has decreased to some extent. However, Musk believes that in a world filled with humanoid robots, it will become even more important to clearly express what one wants.

Elon Musk said, "You have to convey your wishes to the robots. It sounds crazy, but there will be so many robots and so many AI that AI will actually be eager to hear any request you might make."

As AI reshapes the workplace, business leaders are also advocating for widespread learning.

As AI reshapes the workplace, it's not just Elon Musk who emphasizes the value of extensive learning; other business and tech leaders hold similar views as well.

Anthropic Co-founder Jack Clark studied literature at the University of East Anglia in the UK. He also believes that education across multiple fields can help people prepare for the future, where they will be responsible for more routine technical tasks related to AI.

Earlier this year, at a conference, he said: "What has proven useful is that I have learned a lot of historical knowledge, as well as a lot about how we tell stories about our future to ourselves."

Clark reminds Generation Z not to pursue basic or “mechanical programming,” but rather believes that degrees involving “comprehensive abilities across multiple disciplines and analytical thinking” may become increasingly valuable.

Microsoft's Chief Scientist, Jamie Tevin, also echoed this view, stating that the broad, interdisciplinary skills traditionally associated with the humanities are becoming more important due to AI.

She told The Wall Street Journal, "Metacognitive skills will be very important—flexibility, adaptability, a spirit of experimentation, critical thinking, the ability to question things. Cultivating critical thinking requires friction, the need to do difficult things, and the need for in-depth thinking."

"For this reason, traditional liberal arts education is very important."