Universal Abundance
So it's possible tech creates "Universal Abundance" and it's not crazy
The possibility of universal abundance comes from when intelligence plus a human-like body is perfected.
If you make a smart robot, you essentially create a human, but not just a human, a better human.
It’s a human that can instantly learn a skill.
For example, it might take me several years to learn plumbing or electrical work. However, once a robot learns how to do plumbing or electrical work, that knowledge can be uploaded to millions or billions or trillions of other robots instantly — just like downloading an Uber app on one phone, then installing it on a billion phones instantly.
So skills become copyable. Learning becomes instant.
And a robot body can do work humans can’t:
Dangerous work
Hard labor
Extreme conditions (too hot, too cold)
Long hours
Tasks requiring no rest or sleep
So what happens to work?
It will obviously displace a lot of jobs, but the weird part is the end result may be what Elon Musk calls universal abundance.
The more I think about it, the more I think: maybe he’s actually right.
The cost of your current life will drop dramatically
Right now, I’m sitting at my desk. I’ve got:
A computer
A nice office
A comfortable bed
A clean bathroom
Furniture
A house full of useful stuff
All of it cost money — mostly because of labor.
If robots can build, repair, assemble, manufacture, transport, and design everything, the cost of that labor doesn’t go to zero but it goes very, very, very low.
So this causes:
A million-dollar house might cost a tenth of that.
A useful tool like a compute might become extremely cheap to produce because robots/ai design, create, and build them.
Most products become inexpensive because robots design, build, and assemble them at near-zero marginal cost.
We’ve already seen this pattern too!
A long time ago, a yo-yo may have been expensive because humans had to craft and assemble it by hand.
Now, because manufacturing is automated, a bag of ten yo-yos costs a dollar at the dollar store.
The point is automation makes stuff cheaper and more easily available.
Tech always takes a little longer than expected
I don’t think robots will suddenly appear everywhere out of nowhere, there will be a slow ramp up.
Every technological revolution takes time:
In 1999, everyone thought the internet would change everything immediately. They were right....just 15–20 years early.
Same with AI today....everyone’s talking about it, but only a fraction are using it deeply.
Same with crypto....it will be used everywhere, but the rails and regulations take time to create and become accepted.
AI and robots will be like this.
We're definitely in a slight hype cycle at the moment, but in the longrun we're just in the tiny beginning phase.
So what happens when robots handle everything?
Universal abundance is essentially a highly capable, highly intelligent robot that anyone can own cheaply.
And if that robot:
Takes care of you
Provides medical checkups
Monitors your vitals
Helps when you’re elderly
Builds your home
Repairs your belongings
Manufactures your tools
Then…what do you need to buy?
If resources, labor, and care are abundant and cheap, money becomes less necessary.
My life is already getting cheaper thanks to AI:
Even now a lot of my medical care starts with asking ChatGPT. I don’t need to call a doctor or consultant for every question.
Same for other tasks in my life.
Most of the questions I have about my baby or my own health go through AI first....and it just keeps getting better.
So:
I go to the doctor less.
When I do go, I’m more informed.
And often a doctors visits is the only reason to go is to use a machine I don’t personally have access to.
So it's kind of wild to think that Universal Abundance isn’t a fantasy, it's just a possible outcome of intelligence + automation + robotics + time.
Once every skill on Earth becomes downloadable and every form of labor becomes nearly free, humanity will shift from working to survive…to living, learning, and creating in ways we haven’t imagined yet.
Already your ancestors from 5,000 years ago couldn't even FATHOM the life you're living now, I see this happening with us in a few decades.