What will Musk's AI world look like in 5 years?

On November 1, 2025, Musk sat in a podcast recording studio and spoke for more than three hours straight, without a teleprompter, his words flowing naturally throughout.

He talked about models, robots, starships, and many political and social controversies. But regarding the future, one thing remained unchanged: he wanted to use AI to rebuild the underlying way the world operates.

He talked about models, robots, starships, and many political and social controversies. But regarding the future, one thing remained constant: he wanted to use AI to rebuild the underlying way the world operates.

The development of AI goes beyond language interaction or content generation; more importantly, it's about understanding the world, integrating processes, and driving change at key stages. At this moment, a clear contrast emerges: OpenAI talks about products, Google talks about ecosystems, and Musk talks about the structure of civilization. In this interview, he outlined a complete picture of AI in the next 5 to 6 years: Applications will disappear, operating systems will cease to exist; phones will only have screens and audio, with all interaction handled by AI; robots will not imitate humans, but will replace most manual labor; work may no longer be a means of livelihood, but a personal choice. This is not a fantasy, but a roadmap. Musk isn't predicting the future; he's building it. Section 1 | From Search Engine to Action System: Grok's Ambition In the podcast, Musk first questions the existing search model. He believes that letting users search, filter, and judge for themselves essentially pushes the work that AI should be doing onto humans. "The future isn't about 'searching for answers,' but about 'taking action,'" he says, explaining that Grok is a system designed based on this logic. The logic of traditional search engines is: give you ten links and let you judge for yourself. But Grok's goal is: directly tell you the answer, or directly help you complete the task. The underlying support for this is Grokipedia. Unlike Wikipedia's crowdsourcing model, Grokipedia allows AI to directly read information from across the internet, assess credibility, and provide conclusions. Musk says its principle is accuracy, not pleasing users. Specifically, what are the differences between Grokipedia and traditional search? Take a medical query as an example: Traditional search: gives you a bunch of medical website links. Grok: tells you directly, "This drug has three clinical trials, two of which are questionable, and the risks outweigh the benefits." This is not just information aggregation, but a return of judgment to the individual. Furthermore, Grok is not satisfied with just answering questions; it wants to perform tasks. You ask: What movies are suitable for children this weekend? Traditional Search: Provides movie reviews, schedules, and ratings. Grok: Filters violent content → Compares age → Opens the ticketing page. In Musk's view, Grok is not an upgraded version of a search tool, but an intelligent system that can understand intent, make judgments, and complete actions. Users no longer need to click, jump, or filter; instead, they can directly state their intent, letting AI drive the entire process: understanding → judgment → execution → feedback. The essence of Grok is not to replace search, but to redefine the relationship between people and information. Section 2 | A Revolution in Interaction: From Click to Conversation If Grok is to become an action system, how are these actions triggered? Musk provides a clear answer in his podcast: change the way we interact. He describes the future of devices very clearly: within 5 to 6 years, phones will no longer have operating systems and apps; devices will retain only two functions: screen and voice. What does this mean? Without clickable app icons, without interfaces to switch between, how will you interact with AI? There's only one answer: speak. In the podcast, Musk elaborated on this logic: Future devices will be "edge nodes for AI inference," where server-side AI communicates in real time with device-side AI, generating any content you need on demand. And voice will be the primary way to trigger all of this. Imagine a specific scenario: Now: Open the app → Search for flights → Compare prices → Fill in information → Pay → Receive emails. Future: Say "Book me a flight to Shanghai tomorrow afternoon" → AI completes the entire process. This isn't just an upgrade to a voice assistant, but a reconstruction of interaction logic. It's no longer about humans adapting to machines (clicking, inputting, waiting), but about machines understanding humans (listening, judging, executing). Within this system, Grok's capabilities can be truly unleashed: You state your intention; AI understands the context; it calls upon necessary information; it completes specific actions; it provides feedback on the results. This is the meaning of Musk's "edge node": the device is no longer a carrier of functionality, but a trigger for AI capabilities. This marks the beginning of an "app-free era," and the entry point is your voice. Section 3 | Robots: The Vehicle for AI to Enter the Physical World Grok and voice interaction solve problems in the digital world: information retrieval, content generation, and task judgment. But for AI to truly change real life, a vehicle capable of performing tasks in the physical world is needed. This is the significance of robots. Musk's definition of robots is very specific: robots are not meant to imitate human appearances, but rather to be physical entities that perform human tasks. The focus is not on whether they look like humans, but on whether they can do the work. Specifically: AI is responsible for understanding and decision-making, while robots are responsible for execution and feedback. You express your needs through voice, AI determines how to accomplish them, and the robot performs the task in the real world. This logic is consistent with the Grok framework discussed earlier: extending from "understanding → action" in the information world to "understanding → action" in the physical world. To achieve this, future robots will need three core capabilities: Perception – Recognizing the environment, determining object positions, and assessing operational risks through a visual system; Understanding – Receiving AI instructions and breaking them down into specific executable steps; Execution – Accurately completing operations in real-world environments and providing feedback. Only when these three aspects are integrated can a robot transform from a moving model into a working tool. Musk mentioned that the key advancement of Optimus lies not in its mechanical structure, but in the deep integration of its AI system. In other words, enabling the robot to understand, think clearly, and perform correctly is a more significant breakthrough than its physical design. For example, you say, "Help me organize the warehouse." → AI understands the task, plans the route, and identifies items. → The robot performs the handling, sorting, and stacking. → Feedback is provided upon completion. Throughout the entire process, the human only needs to express their intention; the rest is handled by AI and the robot. Optimus's true applications are not in everyday household use, but in production: factory assembly lines, logistics sorting, warehouse management, equipment maintenance… all those areas with high repetition, high risk, and high labor costs. From Grok to voice, and then to robots, Musk is building a complete AI system that encompasses cognition and action, from digital to physical. The ultimate goal of this system is a transformation of civilization. Section Four | The Ultimate Vision: From a Working Society to an Affluent Civilization When Grok, voice, and robots are pieced together, it points not only to technological upgrades but also to a grander social transformation. In the latter part of the interview, Musk discussed a question many dare not consider: What will human society be like when AI and robots can perform most tasks? His answer is: Universal High Income. This isn't the kind of basic income that barely keeps you fed and clothed, but true abundance. Everyone can have any goods and services they want, and poverty will be completely eliminated. It sounds utopian, but Musk has provided a clear path to achieve it: Step One: AI + Robots Drastically Reduce Production Costs. When AI handles all digital work and robots perform manual labor, the cost of goods and services will decrease exponentially. Step Two: Work Becomes an Option It's not about unemployment, but about choosing not to work. Those who want to work can continue working, and those who don't can still live with dignity. Step Three: Humanity Redefines Meaning When the anxiety of survival is gone, people can spend their time on things they are truly interested in: creating, exploring, learning, and spending time with loved ones. Musk says this is a "sustainable abundance" society: without destroying the natural environment, everyone enjoys an abundant life. But this future has one prerequisite: AI must be safe. Throughout the interview, the thing he emphasized most clearly was that AI must pursue truth to the greatest extent possible. AI cannot be trained to only say what you want to hear, and excessive political correctness (what Musk calls the "awakening mind virus") cannot be programmed into AI. He gave an example: when some AI is trained to be diverse, it might draw absurd conclusions. To ensure no one is offended, the best way is to eliminate all humanity. This is not a joke, but a real risk. This is why Grok was designed from the outset to seek the ultimate truth: it can be humorous and satirical, but it must be honest in its judgments of facts. In assessing the value of human life, Grok is the only AI that "treats all humans equally." Musk said that his reason for creating xAI and Grok was not just to participate in the AI ​​race, but to ensure that at least one AI is on humanity's side. From this perspective, Grok, voice interaction, and the Optimus robot are not just products, but infrastructure leading to a future of "sustainable abundance." He is building a complete system that allows AI to understand the world, converse with people, and act in reality. The ultimate goal of this system is not to make AI smarter, but to make humans freer. This is the future Musk is betting on. A civilization where jobs are optional, material wealth is abundant, and meaning is self-defined. Conclusion | This is not a prophecy, but the future that is happening. In this 3-hour interview, Musk didn't talk about parameters or demonstrate technological roadmaps. He talked about how AI is reshaping the underlying logic of human life. From Grok to voice, from robots to widespread high incomes, each step is not an isolated product, but the infrastructure of a future affluent society. While others are vying for the AI ​​market, Musk is designing an operating system for a new civilization. In the coming period, change may not manifest as blockbuster products, but rather as a subtle shift in the tools around you, the ways you interact, and the way you work. At that time, the question will no longer be how powerful AI is, but whether we are ready for a world with job options and material abundance. The answer may lie within these next few years.