During a virtual appearance at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tesla CEO Elon Musk issued a stark warning about population collapse. He stated, "Based on current birth rates, South Korea's population will shrink to far less than one-third of what it is now." Musk highlighted that while artificial intelligence (AI) poses the most immediate threat in the short term, the long-term concern is a global population decline. Two years ago, Musk had also expressed a similar sentiment on X (formerly Twitter), asserting that if South Korea's birth rate remains unchanged, the population could drop to less than 6% of its current size within three generations. Last year, South Korea recorded its lowest total fertility rate ever at just 0.72 children per woman.

Musk emphasized that this population collapse is not an isolated issue for South Korea. He predicted that Europe would also see its population fall to less than half of its current size, assuming a recovery of the birth rate to 2.1 children per woman. He warned that if current trends continue, the global population could decline to below 5% within three generations. Musk argued, "If we cannot produce more people, humanity itself will cease to exist, rendering all other policies meaningless," urging for measures to encourage childbirth. He remarked, "It's not just about words; we need action," and encouraged others to have more children, sharing his own experience of having 11 kids. His first wife bore him five sons, and after divorcing his second wife, he had two sons and a daughter with Canadian singer Grimes. Recently, he welcomed a third child with an executive from his company Neuralink. Musk anticipates that humanoids—robots that think and act like humans—will fill the void left by the declining human population. He speculated that by 2040, humanoids could outnumber humans, predicting their cost to be between $20,000 and $25,000 each. Musk unveiled a humanoid model named "Optimus" on October 10 and plans to start sales in 2026.

(The Korean Daily 2024.10.31)