Davos 2026: Elon Musk Sees AI Outsmarting 'All Of Humanity' In Next Five Years

In a surprise visit at the World Economic Forum in Davos, billionaire Elon Musk said that artificial intelligence would be smarter than all of humanity combined in the next five years.

While in conversation with BlackRock's chief executive officer Larry Fink, Musk stated that AI was already "smarter than any individual human" in 2026, and may become "smarter than all of humanity combined in the next five years".

Musk stated that innovation in AI coupled with similar developments in humanoid robots will create a condition for "sustainable abundance". 

"With robotics and AI, this is really the path to abundance for all," Musk told Fink. "People often talk about solving global poverty — how do we give everyone a very high standard of living? The only way to do this is AI and robotics," he added.

He also spoke about Tesla's Optimus robot which is capable of undertaking simplistic tasks in factories, with more advanced abilities to be implemented by the EV company. “If things go well, we expect to sell humanoid robots to the public by the end of next year,” Musk said.

He further stated that he expects robots to soon outnumber humans once they formally settle in as a commodity in the market, stating that they could also be used to provide elder care in a world where ageing populations are increasing. 

Musk also said that he expects to see AI data centres in space in the next three to five years, explaining that having artificial intelligence data centres in space would conserve energy, as these data centres already consume a significant amount of power.

His plan revolves around launching a satellite constellation similar to Starlink via his rocket Starship, which will carry heavy cooling systems for AI chips. These satellites will transmit information via laser beams instead of fibre-optic cables. He also claimed that SpaceX has designed large and foldable radiators that will open up orbit to vent heat into the space.

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