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Elon Musk says AI will make jobs irrelevant

Get a job writing AI software, he recommends. Until AI takes that over, too.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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AI will make jobs pointless, Elon Musk says.

 Getty Images

Elon Musk may be one of the biggest names in tech, but his views on how artificial intelligence will affect jobs aren't so rosy. 

"AI will make jobs kind of pointless," the CEO said Thursday at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. "Probably the last job that will remain will be writing AI software, and then eventually the AI will just write its own software."

Musk suggested people study things like engineering, physics, art or careers that involve people interacting with each other. 

"People enjoy, fundamentally, interacting with other people," he said. "So if you're working on something that involves people, or engineering, it's probably a good approach."

There's plenty of debate over whether AI will take over our jobs, with one report earlier this year finding that robots could replace humans in a quarter of US jobs by 2030. Additionally, the report found that jobs with "predictable physical and cognitive tasks" are most vulnerable, while those that are more creative or require higher interpersonal social skills or higher education are safer from an AI takeover.